On 31 January 2022, the “new” Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use and repealing Directive 2001/20/EC (the “Regulation“) will enter into force. After several delays (the launch was originally planned for 2015), the European Medicines Agency (the “EMA”) has confirmed to the Commission that the EU portal and the EU database, which were a prerequisite for the launch, are now fully functioning. At the same time, the EMA confirmed that the EU portal and database will be put into operation on 31 January 2022. As of this date, the Regulation will become fully applicable in all EU Member States.

As of January 1, 2022, a deposit system for disposable beverage packaging will be introduced in Slovakia. Some disposable beverage packaging manufacturers and distributors will therefore have new obligations.

Is it possible to perceive some elements of the corona crisis positively? And is it possible that changes could take place that would have a positive effect on the Slovak legal market? I may be too optimistic, but I am convinced that the answer to both questions is “yes.”

After a valuable and information-rich day of panel discussions on important business development and law firm management topics, participants reconvened that evening (and were joined by several dozen newcomers) at the first ever CEE Legal Matters Annual Banquet and Deal of the Year Awards Ceremony – a celebration of CEE’s legal markets and the lawyers who work within them. Awards were presented for 17 qualifying markets in CEE – plus a surprise award for overall CEE Deal of the Year – with many of the lawyers playing key roles in nominated deals joining the celebration.