The Russian government has approved the rules* for selling over-the-counter (OTC) drugs online.

In late April 2020, the ban was lifted on the provision of services related to the conclusion of insurance contracts in electronic form by insurance agents and brokers.

On 1 April 2020, amendments* came into force allowing Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to enter additional information about themselves on the Fedresurs* website, as well as information relating to individual terms of contracts they enter into.

As of 27 July 2020, geographical indications on products will be protected in Russia. It will be possible to register them with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent). These changes are the result of the entry into force of recent amendments to the Russian Civil Code.

CMS Sofia has advised Korean investors KOSEP and SDN on additional EUR 10 million financing obtained from UniCredit Bulbank AD, Expressbank AD, and DSK Bank EAD for two 42 MWp photovoltaic projects in Bulgaria. CMS Vienna advised the lenders on the financing.

CMS has advised PZ Cussons on the sale of LUKSJA, a Polish personal care cosmetics brand present in several CEE and former CIS countries, to the Sarantis Group.

On 21 April 2020, the Russian Supreme Court clarified in an official Review certain issues of judicial practice related to the application of legislation in the context of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and more specifically in relation to:

CMS has advised the Bank of Cyprus on Ukrainian law matters following its 2014 sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus and associated debt to Alfa Group and on the refinancing by the EBRD of a EUR 68 million facility for the construction of the “largest shopping, exhibition, and office centers in Odesa Riviera Property Complex owned by Ukrainian asset holding company Novi Biznes Poglyady."

In The Corner Office we ask Managing Partners across Central and Eastern Europe about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: What major initiative or new plan does your office (or firm) plan – if any – for 2020?

Part II of our Special Report on the Bosnian Legal Market before, during, and after the Bosnian War

Climate change-related risks have climbed to the top of the agenda of various stakeholders across the globe: governments, international organizations, NGOs, businesses, and ordinary citizens. The Global Risk Report 2020, presented this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, demonstrates that climate-related risks – including extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and human-made environmental disasters – are among the top five long-term risks over the next ten years. Most notably, according to survey respondents, the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation is this year’s number one long-term risk by impact. The report underscores that, in the 2020s, “concerted action is required not only to reduce emissions but also to develop credible adaptation strategies, including climate-proofing infrastructure, closing the insurance protection gap, and scaling up public and private adaptation finance.”

When it comes to resolving disputes between contracting parties, the threat, “I’ll see you in court!” often is the first thing to cross peoples’ minds. This call to arms is still common, despite the availability now of different dispute resolution methods, such as arbitration.

Prorogation clauses are forum-selection clauses in contracts between entrepreneurs, who agree in writing on the local jurisdiction of a first-instance court for disputes arising out of or in connection with their business matter, unless the law states otherwise and prescribes an exclusive jurisdiction. It is possible to enter into a separate prorogation agreement instead of a contractual clause with the same effect.

The “order for payment procedure” was initially introduced in Bulgaria with the adoption of the new Civil Procedural Code in 2007 as an accelerated enforcement procedure for debt collection. This procedure provides creditors with a relatively fast and easy way to obtain an enforcement order against debtors. In general, the order for payment procedure is like a closed administrative procedure and requires only the submission of a standard application form and payment of a state fee of 2% of the amount claimed.

CMS Vienna Partner Nikolaus Weselik will take over as the head of the working group on construction contract law and construction procedural law of the Austrian Society of Construction Law and Construction Business Management.

Roxana Fratila, the Head of Real Estate and Construction at CMS Bucharest, has been promoted to Partner at the firm.

CMS has advised Real Assets Advisers on its structuring of the joint acquisition of 33% of Acciona Energía Internacional by AXA Real Asset and Acciona S.A.

CMS Warsaw has announced that it will be joined by five former Clifford Chance lawyers in August, including Slawomir Czerwinski and Mateusz Stepien, who will join as Partners, Jaroslaw Gajde, who will join as Counsel, Antoni Wandzilak, joining as Senior Associate, and Dominika Pietkun, joining as Associate.