Aruba

• The Constitution of Aruba, and the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Aruban codes, such as the Civil Code, based on Dutch models
• Landsverordeningen (national ordinances) passed by the Staten of Aruba

• The Supreme Court of the Netherlands, in cassation
• The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
• The Court of First Instance of Aruba

A law degree, often from the Netherlands or Aruba, and admission as an advocate by the Joint Court.

• It decides most matters itself, but defence and foreign affairs belong to the Kingdom.
• It shares an appeal court with its neighbouring islands.
• The final appeal goes to the Supreme Court in The Hague.

Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Venezuela

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Aruba as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.