SURINAME: An Introduction to General Business Law

Overview 

Suriname is an independent Republic in South America bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the North, Brazil to the South, French Guyana to the East and Guyana to the West. In 1816, Suriname was claimed by the Dutch, up to the day of its independence on the 25 November 1975. Suriname’s legal history is closely linked to its political development, the major periods of which were its colonial period; its period of autonomy (or partial self-government); its phase of independence, when a new legal order was instituted; its military period, which overturned the legal order of the time; and, finally, its return to a period of parliamentary democracy. This resulted in a mixed legal framework born of the principles that governed the legal order of the Netherlands up to 1991, interpreted and applied within in a domestic context, and of rules adopted by the republic itself.

The administration of justice in Suriname is the responsibility of three Cantonal Courts and a Court of Appeal. All courts have their seat in Paramaribo, the capital, but roving judges from Paramaribo’s Cantonal Courts also hold sessions in other districts. Judges are appointed for life – ie, until the age of retirement. All judges are members of the Court of Justice. The basis for the appointment of judges is enshrined in the Constitution.

Economy

Suriname is a small, natural-resource-rich country with a population of approximately 600,000. Its economy is driven by these natural resources, with mining accounting for almost half of public-sector revenue and gold representing about 80% of total exports. This makes the economy vulnerable to external shocks. As of 2015, government revenue from mining fell sharply, and foreign reserves became drained. In 2020, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Suriname was hit by a severe fiscal and balance-of-payments crisis, as well as dramatic devaluations in its dollar and a worsening shortage of foreign currency. In December 2021, the government entered into a 36-month IMF Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility for Suriname in an amount of about USD688 million to, among other things, restore fiscal sustainability and bring public debt back to sustainable levels.

Foreign exchange restrictions

The economic situation and the shortage of foreign exchange also resulted in foreign exchange restrictions imposed by the government. More specifically, the government imposed a 100% repatriation obligation upon Suriname residence exporters of their foreign currency export revenues, and an obligation to exchange 30% thereof in Suriname currency through one of the resident foreign exchange commercial banks.

CARICOM single market and economy

Suriname is a member state of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) created by the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in 2006 and establishing a common market promoting the freedoms of free movement of goods, persons, services, and the right of establishment and movement of capital, as well as the coordination of common policy in designated domains. The other member states are all West-Indian English-speaking islands and mainland territories of the Caribbean Basin area, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia, and Guyana. CARICOM residents enjoy corresponding favoured status over sources of foreign investment.

Company law

Suriname company law has recently been modernised, abolishing bearer shares, simplifying and cutting start-up costs for the creation of companies, and introducing the one-tier board system as an alternative to the two-tier board system of governance.

Competition

There is to date no competition law in force in Suriname. There are currently no domestic agencies reviewing transactions for competition-related concerns. There is a draft competition law circulating pending review by the government. The CARICOM Competition Commission is based in Suriname, and it monitors potential anti-competitive practices for enterprises operating within the CSME.

Environmental law

The Environmental Framework Law has recently been passed. This Law deals with the protection and sustainable management of the environment in Suriname, and the implementation and entry into effect of obligations deriving from the membership of Suriname to international treaties, conventions and agreements (such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Paris Agreement and the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions on POPs and PIC). The Law also establishes the authority and powers for the investigation, prosecution and trial of offences considered to be environmental offences. 

Oil & Gas

The Guyana-Suriname Basin – the offshore economic zone north of the Atlantic Coast of Guyana and Suriname – has been identified by the US Geological Survey as having significant potential recoverable petroleum and gas reserves. In the past few years, several Production Sharing Agreements have been signed with international petroleum companies to carry out exploration for oil and gas offshore Suriname. In October 2024, TotalEnergies and APA Corporation announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of a production field in Block 58 offshore Suriname, with the construction and installation phase estimated to take about four years. Additionally, Petronas recently announced the discovery of several viable wells, and signed a Letter of Agreement with concession holder Staatsolie for further exploration of the gas discovery made in Block 52. Although a second FID is yet to be made, the drilling of appraisal wells is ongoing, and represents relevant economic development for Suriname.Substantial preparations have now been intensified to teach the local workforce how to capitalise on the attractive economic development.

Carbon credits

Suriname is about 90% covered by forest, and has a carbon-negative economy; any global warming gasses that it does produce are offset by natural resources which absorb those gasses. Suriname has outlined updated plans (Nationally Determined Contributions) under the Paris Climate Agreement to fight climate change in the hope of ensuring that any future increase in the temperature of the planet does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To finance these plans, Suriname sees the potentially lucrative carbon credit exchange market as a promising avenue to source international funding.