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. 

CMS has helped Bulgaria's Global Biome settle a multi-million euro renewable energy dispute with the Sustainable Energy Development Fund related to recent changes to Bulgarian legislation. The SEDF was advised by Bouzeva & Partners.

CMS has advised Amundi Real Estate on its acquisition of Nowogrodzka Square, a Class A office and retail building in Warsaw, from Polish property developer Yareal. Gide Loyrette Nouel advised Yareal.

CMS Kyiv has helped Expert Petroleum, an international company specialized in mature oil and gas field operations optimization, on negotiations with UkrGasVydobuvannya, Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas production company, on Ukraine's first full-scale Production Enhancement Contract.

Former Local Partners Piotr Ciolkowski, Lukasz Szatkowski, and Blazej Zagorski have joined CMS's equity partnership.

Under an Executive Order of the Russian President, special rules for foreign nationals to stay and work in Russia will apply from 15 March to 15 June 2020.

Federal Law No. 102-FZ dated 1 April 2020 (the “Law”) enacts a number of tax support measures applicable to Russian taxpayers, primarily those belonging to negatively affected sectors of the economy. The Law also delegates certain legislative powers relating to taxation to the Russian government.

In response to the proclamation of non-working days in Russia from 4 to 30 April, many employers subject to the President’s Executive Order* dated 2 April 2020 (the “Executive Order”) have asked if they can provide their employees with “leave” during this period.

Six CEE-based lawyers — Agnieszka Skorupinska, Jakub Podkowa, and Jakub Wieczorek in Warsaw, Natalia Kushniruk in Kyiv, Roxana Fratila in Bucharest, and Artashes Oganov in Moscow — are among the 41 worldwide that CMS has promoted to the firm's partnership as part of its 2020 round.

In the current situation, many Russian companies, especially those with foreign investment, have found they are unable to hold their annual meetings (“Annual Meetings”) in full compliance with applicable laws. This is due to both the recent tightening of formal requirements for corporate resolutions and new restrictions on movement, meetings and business operations in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 11 April, the Moscow Mayor and the Governor of the Moscow Region introduced a digital passes regime.