Security Interests Burdening Transport Vehicles: The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and its Implementation in the Netherlands and on the Dutch Caribbean Islands

Abstract

The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town Convention) creates a very workable regime even in a Civil Law setting, although it may be more inspired by the Common Law (particularly Article 9 of the US Commercial Code) than the Civil Law tradition. As such the Convention is a good example to show the impact of globalisation on national law and how such impact can be beneficial. Uniform rules create more certainty, particularly in the area of mobile equipment, which by its very nature may cross borders. The number of countries which are now a party to the Convention is clear evidence to show the correctness of this statement. The Dutch Caribbean islands, no doubt because of their size, their location and the nature of the commercial activities in which they are involved, seem to have understood this better than the Netherlands.