Johan Sjiem Fat

Leaders in Law endorses Johan Sjiem Fat as our exclusively recommended Commercial Law expert in Aruba. If you wish to get in touch with Johan please use the contact information provided above.

Johan was born in Aruba on December 25, 1954. He was educated in the Netherlands and in the USA. He obtained a law degree (LLM in Dutch Law) from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1977. In 1977, he was admitted to the Bar in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles and joined the firm founded by his father Paul Valentijn Sjiem Fat.

In 1980 he obtained a Master’s of Comparative Law Degree (MCL) from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC, where he concentrated in his studies on international law, tax law, commercial law and comparative law. He has practiced law in Aruba ever since. After working for 15 years with his father Paul Valentijn Sjiem Fat, the founder of the firm, he took over the firm when his father retired in 1992.

Johan is also a member of the International Trademark Association. Johan was a member of the committee that drafted the Aruban Constitution and is a former President of the Aruba Bar Association.

Firm Description:

Through the years the firm has evolved from a general practice firm to a firm with a strong commercial as well as a busy public sector practice. The firm handles civil law litigation and administrative law litigation, as well as commercial transactions and matters for both international clients as well as local entrepreneurs. An important part of our practice is in the hospitality industry. We represent various international hotels, casinos and timeshare operators active in Aruba. The work for these clients involves litigation, labor law, contract law, immigration law, business establishment, hotel and gaming regulations as well as financing transactions.

We also act for Aruban and international financial institutions doing business in Aruba and in international capital markets. Many of our clients use our services in the field of intellectual property (IP) matters. We have an experienced team of trademark administrators, who can assist you with trademark and patent registrations, while we also handle prosecutions and litigation in cases of trademark and copyright infringement.

We represent the Aruban government, its agencies and departments in matters ranging from civil and administrative law litigation, negotiations with foreign investors, regulation of the financial sector and reform of the pension system, to the realization of infrastructure projects with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure. Our lawyers are admitted to practice before the courts and in the jurisdictions of Aruba, Curacao, St Martin, and the BES-islands.