Mr Tom Peeters > VANEPS > Willemstad, Curacao > Lawyer Profile

During recent years, Tom Peeters was involved in several confidential high-profile energy and hotel development-related projects, once more showing he’s the legal expert in this area in the Dutch Caribbean region.

A client’s testimonial in the Legal500 Caribbean 2023 reads:  ‘We appreciate Tom Peeters not only for his in-depth legal knowledge, but also that we can always count on Tom’s availability for us in legal matters, even in addition to his role as partner at VANEPS.’

In Curaçao, Tom assisted local consortium CORC in the negotiations with Refineria di Korsou and the country of Curaçao about the exploitation of the refinery. On Bonaire and Saba, Tom assisted in executing the tender process for the realisation of the solar park and negotiating the realisation of a sustainable energy supply.  Furthermore, Tom has been advising on the development of the Chogogo Resort in Bonaire, this entailed the diligent management of stakeholders in this complex project that is situated near a protected nature reserve, having competing initiatives nearby to consider as well.

The Real Estate team of VANEPS is involved in every significant development in the Dutch Caribbean and assists developers, contractors as well as contracting authorities in the contracting, permitting and public procurement of various real estate projects. With the ‘getting things done’ mentality the team has amongst others successfully assisted in the development of hotel and leisure projects and private and social housing projects. Also, large utility companies have requested assistance in the realization of water purification plants, energy supply and office projects. VANEPS also assisted Mota-Engil in the tender, contracting and successful realization of the road project Watty Vos Boulevard on Aruba.

As of 1 January 2021, Tom took on the position of managing partner, now also managing the firm together with Esther Geerling- Jansen.

Tom also assists candidates and contracting authorities in organizing and participating in (public) procurement and bidding procedures. In addition, he regularly litigates in construction law cases and in disputes on spatial planning and the environment. Tom is a targeted litigator, who often also acts in appeal cases. He also concluded his studies as a cassation lawyer.

Tom started at VANEPS  in 2013, and he previously worked at international law firms and he used to be director of a legal consultancy firm. In that role, he was involved in various real estate projects in the Netherlands, but also in Curacao and the BES islands (Caribbean Netherlands), in an early stage. Tom regularly publishes about, inter alia, project development, sustainability projects, cooperatives and procurement. He teaches on various legal topics, he conducted research on, inter alia, participation models for sustainable projects and permit strategies for real estate projects, and he has developed several innovative legal products, including new procurement methods. He also advises on the execution and application of the international FIDIC contracts and is experienced in participating in DAB-dispute adjudication boards.

Tom works on various real estate projects across the Caribbean. He is also a member of the Dutch Bar Association, the Dutch Association for Procurement Law and the Dutch Construction Lawyers Association.