SOC·2026·337
Tubal-Cain: The Man at the Forge and the Lesson Behind the Legend
28 October 2026
Tubal-Cain gets one verse in Genesis, yet his forge became a lasting symbol. The legend of two pillars asks what happens to what we know when we are gone.
I have written about Aruban law since 1998, first in books for practitioners. In 2007 I started doing it in public.
On the courts, the economy, the coastline and the aircraft register. In four languages. Best read in order.
- Books
- 15
- since 1998
- Articles
- 337
- since 2007
- Languages
- 4
- en · nl · pap · es
- Writing
- 1998
- first book
Latest
The whole register →
LAB·2026·336
The Swiss Lesson: Higher Wages, Better Lives?
27 October 2026
In 2014 the Swiss rejected a CHF 22 minimum wage by 76.3%. As Aruba debates a bestaansminimum, the right goal still needs the right instrument.
COR·2026·335
Black Friday Is Coming. Customs, Take Note.
24 October 2026
An Aruba court restored a USD 3,200 customs value that Customs had raised to USD 6,000. Before Black Friday: a bargain is not fraud, and the law sets the test.
GOV·2026·334
Let Owners Register, but Under Whose Authority?
17 October 2026
The government has announced a registration plan for vacation rentals. Before owners are asked to comply, the government should publish the legal basis, name the responsible authorities and build a system people can actually use.
GOV·2026·333
Open brief aan de Gouverneur, de Staten en de regering van Aruba: wie is volgens de wet bevoegd?
13 oktober 2026
De Iberosol-uitspraak legt een bevoegdheidsprobleem bloot: een portefeuille kan politiek worden verplaatst, maar een wettelijke bevoegdheid verhuist niet automatisch mee. Waar is het landsbesluit van artikel 2a, derde lid?
JUS·2026·332
Tell Us the Rule: When Does a Political Appointment Become a Crime?
10 October 2026
A court may condemn fraud. But before it decides that political actors deceived a system, it must understand how that system actually worked. What, exactly, was the rule?
JUS·2026·331
The Government May Have a Point. But Does It Have the Power?
7 October 2026
The Court of First Instance did not approve a hotel. It told the government that if it wants to say no, it must do so under the law.
JUS·2026·330
From Complaining to Acting: The Handhavingsverzoek
4 October 2026
Aruba's handhavingsverzoek lets citizens and organisations formally ask government to enforce the law — and the deadlines that make it work.
JUS·2026·329
Aruba Hospital, AWG. 29M and the Courage to Go to Court
27 September 2026
Horacio Oduber Hospital is taking the Government of Aruba to court over Afl. 29 million in care for the uninsured. Good governance means letting a judge decide.
Dossiers
All nine →Each dossier is a standing thread, read oldest first, so an argument develops instead of arriving backwards.