LDG·REGISTER·SINCE 1998

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: 339; since 2007
Languages: 4; en · nl · pap · es
Writing: 1998; first book

Latest

The whole register →

The old Jimmy's Place crowd, together again. Careers changed, Jimmy's Place disappeared, but the friendships remained. Now, one of us is gone.

JUS·2026·339

In Memoriam: Jeannot de Cuba

30 October 2026

A tribute to Jeannot de Cuba, former Dean of the Aruba Bar, who died at 59: the first of our own generation of lawyers to go, and a reminder to make time.

Open Letter to Airbnb. A person at a wooden desk points a pen at a laptop screen reading Vacation Rental Registration above a large question mark; beside it lie a book titled Staatsregeling Aruba and a folder marked Council of Ministers Action Plan, with a window view of colourful houses, palm trees and the sea.

GOV·2026·338

Vacation Rentals: Can the Government Require Registration?

30 October 2026

An open letter to Airbnb ahead of its November 3 host meeting: before presenting vacation rental registration as an obligation, verify the legal basis.

Engraving of Tubal-Cain at his forge: a bearded smith bends over a fire throwing sparks under a thatched roof, children work beside him, his sister Naamah sits spinning thread at right, and a mountain valley with a river, mills and miners stretches behind; Latin verses from Genesis IV run along the bottom.

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.

The flags of Aruba and Switzerland fly under a cloudy sky; between them, stacks of coins rise along an upward arrow toward a wooden block reading Minimum Wage Increase?

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.

A customs officer in a Douane vest studies a USD 3,200 invoice beside a parcel, while a screen shows the same motorcycle at USD 6,000 and USD 3,200; Black Friday sale signs, the Aruba port behind, and a plaque reading Vrije mededinging / Free competition beneath a set of scales.

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.

Portret van mr. Lincoln D. Gomez in een zwart T-shirt, met op de achtergrond een plaquette met een blauwe vliegtuigstaart.

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?

A desk at golden hour: a stack of official papers with a pen on the left, a cut-out of Aruba in the centre, and on the right a dense network of office cards linked by threads. A red line runs between them. Title: Tell us the rule

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.

Dossiers

All nine →

Each dossier is a standing thread, read oldest first, so an argument develops instead of arriving backwards.

ECOEconomy and tourism AVIAviation and aircraft finance CORCorporate, tax and financial regulation JUSJustice, courts and the legal profession SOCSociety and personal reflection GOVGovernance and public administration LABLabour and employment KGDAruba and the Kingdom ENVEnvironment and public health