Did you know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, of the 88 law firm partners who have reported working on disputes in CEE over the past 12 months, only nine have reported working on more than one?

To facilitate easier obtaining of residence and work permits, due to the increasing influx of foreigners coming to live and work in the Republic of Serbia, new amendments were made to the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Employment of Foreigners in 2023. As a result of these legal amendments, there was a need to adopt new bylaws that would comply with the latest changes.

According to the provisions of the Labor Law (“Law”), in case of (culpable) breach of work obligations or non-compliance with work discipline by an employee, before terminating the employment contract or imposing another measure prescribed by Law, the employer is obliged to warn the employee in writing about the existence of grounds for termination of the employment contract and to provide them with a deadline (of at least eight days from the date of receipt of the warning) to respond to the allegations included therein.

NKO Partners has advised the IGEPA group on its acquisition of a 51% stake in Serbian company Oracal Polikarbonati from Dejan Karic, who will stay on with a 49% stake. Four Legal advised the seller.

Cvjeticanin & Partners has advised Infinity Production on copyright protection for the Sing with Me TV music show.

Karanovic & Partners has advised both parties on Embracer Group's sale of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive in a deal worth USD 247 million. Baker McKenzie reportedly advised the Embracer Group.

Contributed by Bojovic Draskovic Popovic & Partners.

Cvjeticanin & Partners has advised the Modern Business School on the implementation of Serbian labor law provisions relating to collective and individual aspects within a redundancy case.

Serbia’s real estate sector is undergoing some foundational shifts, according to Vukcevic Law Managing Partner Nenad Vukcevic, with numerous changes to the property and construction laws, led by a shift towards mandatory electronic cadaster subscriptions heralding a new digital era for legal processes in the country.

In April 2024, Karanovic & Partners announced that DS Smith's acquisition of Bosis (reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 4, 2023) had closed.

On April 1, 2024, BDK Advokati announced that Waberer’s acquisition of MDI (reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 16, 2023) had closed.

At the end of January, the Ministry of Finance invited representatives of business associations to submit their views regarding the possibility of a reform aiming to increase the progressivity of salary taxation. The Ministry emphasized that the framework for the change refers only to salary tax and not to contributions for mandatory social insurance, as well as that any proposals should produce effects that are de minimis budget neutral, both at the level of the entire economy and at the level of local governments.

Slovenia and Croatia adopted the Minimum Tax Act (MTA). The MTA implements Directive (EU) 2022/2523 to ensure a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups in the EU. The latter is a consequence of the OECD’s global fight against tax base erosion within the scope of Pillar II.

NKO Partners has advised Manuvia on its acquisition of Serbia's Interea from Iosif Calamar.

BDK Advokati has advised Enlight Renewable Energy and Enlight K-2 Wind on the development and financing of the 94.4-megawatt Pupin wind farm slated for construction in Kovacica, Serbia. Harrisons and, reportedly, White & Case advised lenders Erste Bank AG, Erste Bank Novi Sad, and the EBRD on their EUR 91.4 million financing.

On July 4, 2023, CEE Legal Matters reported that Kinstellar and SOG were teaming up in Serbia through a strategic partnership. Recently appointed Kinstellar Belgrade Managing Partner – and co-head of the firm-wide Financial Institutions sector – Milos Velimirovic shares an insider’s perspective on the move.

The Parliament of Montenegro has adopted again the Law on Amendments to the Companies Act with 43 votes in favor, at the extraordinary session of the Parliament held on January 19, 2024, and the Amendments entered into force on January 23, 2024.

The luxury design company Hermès is facing allegations of engaging in unlawful practices by “tying” the purchase of its popular Birkin bags to the purchase of other luxury clothing and accessory items, as claimed in a class-action lawsuit filed in the US. According to the lawsuit, two California shoppers stated that they were compelled to buy additional Hermès products from various categories such as apparel, scarves, and homeware before being allowed to purchase Birkin handbags from the Paris-based brand.