On 19 September 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine adopted Regulation No. 1011, introducing a comprehensive methodology ("Methodology") to identify the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of legal entities in Ukraine. This significant development aims to enhance transparency and provide detailed guidance on the process of identifying UBOs, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that legal entities in Ukraine are able to correctly identify UBOs within their ownership structure and disclose this information to the competent authorities.

It may come as no surprise to interested parties (such as textile and footwear producers, environmental specialists and activists) that the European Commission has proposed a targeted revision of the Waste Framework Directive to address the issue of textile waste (the “Proposal”).

At the CEE Legal Matters GC Summit in Istanbul, legal experts from across the region and beyond tackled the importance of crisis management – even when nothing is burning. Summit attendees were briefed on how companies can navigate gray areas, manage global supply chain disruptions, and, overall, be prepared for whatever comes their way.

With ESG having been a buzzword in the Czech real estate market for a few years now, Clifford Chance Partner Emil Holub, Kocian Solc Balastik Partner Jiri Hornik, VIDD Partner Ondrej Hampl, Taylor Wessing Counsel Radka Nenickova, and Act Legal Czech Republic Partner Tomas Slaby look at how ESG principles are being applied in practice and in what areas there is still room for improvement.

The impact and perception of ESG considerations in the CEE region, and specifically in the Czech Republic, is still in the early stages of its evolutionary path, compared to, say, the U.K., the U.S., or larger Western European economies. There is certain skepticism and uncertainty as to what this new trendy acronym means and if, at the end of the day, it will really impact a Czech industrial family business, a hotel, or a high-tech start-up. ESG considerations, policies, and metrics are likely to be more familiar (and implemented to a certain degree) to a large Czech company – moreover, when it’s a part of an international corporate group – rather than a smaller Czech enterprise, but of course, there are exceptions to the rule.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the Czech Republic has finally adopted a law that introduces institutional protection for whistleblowers in accordance with European legislation. The Whistleblower Protection Act (Act) will come into force on August 1, 2023.