On April 21, 2021 The Law on Utilization of Renewables (the „Law“) was adopted by The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, after recently held  public discussion in which the new regulations that refer to producers and consumers of electricity were presented.

Harrisons has advised EBRD on its provision of a EUR 20 million loan to UniCredit Leasing Serbia.

JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic has advised Pertula Holdings Ltd. and Aleksandar Popovic on the sale of the remaining shares in Grand Production to Grand Slam Group. Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr reportedly advised the buyers.

Concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere as a result of human activities are the cause of more extreme climate changes than those caused by nature. In order to reduce the effects and to enable the survival of the living world, it is necessary to reduce emissions on a global level.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia passed a new Regulation on rules and terms for granting state aid of small value (de minimis aid), which was published in the Official Gazette under no. 23/2021 (“Regulation”).

The adoption of the Law on Same-Sex Unions is expected soon in Serbia and it will, for the first time, regulate the existence and legal consequences of partnership between same-sex persons. Such persons will now be enabled to exercise certain rights that are guaranteed by positive legislation only to spouses and partners in extramarital unions, such as acquisition of joint property, inheritance, right to pension, hospital visits etc.

It is 2017 and you are a foreigner (non-resident of Serbia) aiming to purchase a share of a Serbian company. After you negotiate principal terms, conduct the due diligence, set final terms, and negotiate transaction documents, at the closing you transfer the purchase price in euros to the Buyer’s euro bank account in Serbia, and all is well. Now it is 2021, you are again in Serbia undertaking the same steps, but this time, you are in breach of the Foreign Exchange Act (“FX Act”). Why is that?

Jankovic Popovic Mitic has successfully represented Bridgestone Europe in an unspecified arbitral procedure conducted under the rules of the Belgrade Arbitration Center.

Karanovic & Partners has advised Teva Pharmaceuticals on the sale of its Serbian factory, Zdravlje Leskovac, to Frontier Pharma and the Baystone Group. BDK Advokati and Go2Law advised the buyers on the deal.

In line with the latest estimates, the ore reserves in Serbia are valued at 200 billion dollars. After copper ores, the most significant metal ores are lead and zinc ores which are currently exploited in 5 active mines. Great attention has been brought to the excavation of jadarite, a mineral containing lithium and boron, at a location near the river Jadar, which is estimated to contain ten percent of the total lithium supplies discover throughout the world so far.

Akin Gump, Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partneri, Maric & Co, Isailovic & Partners, Harrisons, Zdolsek Attorneys at Law, Boga & Associates, Popovski & Partners, and Forgo Damjanovic & Partners have advised Croatian conglomerate Fortenova Grupa d.d., on the EUR 615 million sale of its frozen food business to Nomad Foods. Norton Rose Fulbright, Lakatos, Koves & Partners, and five firms from the SEE Legal alliance advised Nomad Foods on the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic was launched in Belgrade 30 years ago, in 1991. CEE Legal Matters used the anniversary as an excuse to reach out to Senior Partners Nikola Jankovic, Nenad Popovic, Milos Mitic, and Jelena Gazivoda for a walk down memory lane.

While the numbers of infected and vaccinated persons are on the rise, we wonder why the Republic of Serbia still lacks the smartphone application for tracing contacts with infected persons.

For our Checking In feature, we reach out to partners and heads of practice across CEE to learn how specific practice areas are faring in their jurisdictions. This time around we asked Tax experts: What are the most important changes to the Tax laws in your country since January 2020 and what has their impact been? 

On December 15, 2020 CEELM gathered legal experts from across the region for its annual Year-in-Review Round Table conversation. In a wide-ranging discussion, participants shared opinions and perspectives on their markets, on strong (and less-strong) practices across the region, and the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on both, as well as on how technology is changing the legal industry, and what the industry will look like in 2021.

Karanovic & Partners has advised MTU Aero Engines, a German aircraft engine manufacturer that develops, manufactures, and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines, on the construction of a new maintenance-repair-and-overhaul-facility in Serbia.

Former Karanovic & Partners Lawyer Stefan Petrovic has left the firm to launch Petrovic Legal in Belgrade.

According to Branko Gabric, General Counsel at Air Serbia in Belgrade, we are living in historic times. He reports that the unprecedented pandemic, as well as the subsequent vaccination process, has greatly affected not only the aviation industry, but also the legal sector in his country.