The Russian aggression in Ukraine has many people enquiring about the possibility of holding the Russian Federation accountable for the acts it has committed in the territory of Poland’s eastern neighbour. Yet, at this stage, what should be considered is not only the actual accountability, but also the ontological fact of the existence of liability, which is an inherent condition for the existence of law.

To ensure the implementation and realisation of infrastructure projects, including those financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the Romanian Government adopted the Emergency Ordinance No. 26/2022 on amending and supplementing certain regulatory acts in the field of public investment (GEO 26/2022). GEO 26/2022 entered into force upon its publication with the Official Gazette of Romania on 21 March 2022.

The past months have brought some important decisions from European data protection authorities (“DPA”) with respect to the use of cookies and the transfer of personal data outside the EEA, especially to the USA. This article aims to highlight the context and content of the decisions in question. 

The Law on the Amendment to the Consumer Protection and Property Ownership Law numbered 7392 [“Amendment Law”] was published in the Official Gazette on April 1, 2022. Most changes will enter into force six months later, i.e., as of September 1, 2022. In this article, we will explain the significant amendments introduced to the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 ["CPL"] as per the Amendment Law [available in Turkish only].

A sound investment requires an understanding of all the risks involved in the transaction. The main objective of real estate financial due diligence is to thoroughly inspect the fundamentals of the property, financing, seller and compliance obligations to be able to reduce and mitigate financial uncertainties.

Ukrainian Parliament currently considers bill No 7232 that increases tax rates for Ukrainian businesses related to Russia (the “Measure”). The aim of the bill is to discourage corporations from Russian business activities. If successful, it should decrease Russian fiscal revenue, which will leave Russia with less funds available for warfare. There is, obviously, a huge social request and support for such measures. However, actual effect of the bill is far not that definitive.

On March 4, 2022 the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) published the Communiqué No. 2022/2 on the Amendment of Communiqué No. 2010/4 on the Mergers and Acquisitions Subject to the Approval of the Competition Board (the “Amendment Communiqué”). The Amendment Communiqué introduced certain new rules concerning the Turkish merger control regime, which fundamentally affect merger control notifications submitted to the Authority.

Recent changes in the work of Ukrainian intellectual property institute (Ukrpatent), which performs the functions of the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO).

Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (“the Law”) from 2019, notably Article 11 thereof, have eradicated the practical issues that used to exist in relation to the mandatory social insurance of persons working for foreign employers in Serbia.

EU and Hungarian competition law considerations are also highly relevant in any real estate transaction, especially from a merger control and information exchange perspective.

Sayenko Kharenko, May 9: The invasion of Ukraine has now entered its third month. The “Breathe” Charity Fund continues to expand its efforts to help Ukrainian hospitals and civilians affected by the war. Our volunteers and philanthropists are doing their best every day to support those who need it most. 

On 24 February 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine, in response to the introduction of the martial law in Ukraine initially imposed for 30 days but subsequently extended currently until 25 May 2022, issued Regulation No. 18 on banking system operations during martial law to prevent unproductive capital outflows from the country and to ensure the reliable and stable functioning of Ukrainian banking system during the time of war.

The Communiqué No. 2008-32/34 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency was amended by Communiqué No.2022-32/66, and accordingly, a new prohibition has been introduced regarding foreign currency transactions. Pursuant to the amendment, the contract price will have to be paid in Turkish Lira in sale of goods contracts, other than those for vehicles. The new regulation expanded the scope of the prohibition on foreign currency transactions and became effective as of its publishment in the Official Gazette, i.e., on April 19, 2022. “Goods” in contracts for the sale of goods are defined as any kind of goods that do not fall under the definition of immovable goods.

Due to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, not only military and infrastructural objects of the state and territorial communities but also private objects of Ukrainian and foreign business are being destroyed. 

Usage of corporate cards issued by goods and services providers to their corporate clients, have been recognized and regulated by the latest amendments of relevant Serbian regulations related to fiscalization and to VAT.

The Ministry of Finance has recently announced officially the opening of a call for submission of applications under the state aid scheme regulated by Government Decision no. GD 807/2014 for financing assets. The period for submitting financing requests is scheduled between 15.06.2022-26.07.2022, when investors may file the relevant documentation.

After the recent alignment of Romanian state aid law with applicable European law, the procedure for granting state aid in Romania has also been updated as follows:

In August 2021, the Czech Supreme Court issued a ruling in which it found a provider of a file-sharing service liable for infringement of Czech laws against unfair competition. The decision takes a somewhat unorthodox approach to unfair competition, as it recognizes that particular business models benefitting from “free riding” may in themselves constitute an unlawful practice. For a European audience, it may also be interesting to learn how the court disapplied the safe harbor liability exception for hosting services and how the CJEU’s case law influenced the judgment.