Aruba

	Geographical location and Status Aruba is located in the SW Caribbean approximately 30 km off the NW coast of Venezuela. It is 193 sq. km in area with a year-round summer climate and a constant Northeast cooling breeze. It forms an autonomous partner within the Dutch Kingdom. As of 1986 Aruba has its own constitution, legislature and laws, Central Bank and currency (US$ l.- = Florin 1.80). The government is comprised of a Prime Minister and a cabinet of ministers as the highest executive authority. The royal appointed Governor represents the Dutch Queen as the head of state with minimal representative powers. The legislature is a unicameral parliament consisting of 21 directly elected members from various political parties for a period of maximum 4 years. The official language is Dutch. Commerce and other social activities are however done in English and Spanish and the native language Papiamento, a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English. The permanent population is about 95,000 and the floating population consisting of visitors, mostly tourists, is about 1,000,000 a year. The Judiciary Judges and magistrates form the independent judiciary with lifetime tenure for Civil and Penal proceedings in a Court of First Instance and a Common Court of Appeals for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Cassation is possible with the High Court (of Cassation) in The Hague, Holland. The legal system and the judiciary and professional legal practice are most dependable and of a high esteem. Notaries and attorneys at law are under strict supervision and control of the judiciary by means of permanent institutional disciplinary councils with broad sanctioning powers.