Blockchain technology has – so far – not lead to a transfer of the world's land registers onto this technology or to a "tokenization" of title (documents). The only significant exception in this respect is Georgia where a purchaser's title to real property can be registered by execution of a smart contract.

A common stereotype prevails that banking contracts are non-negotiable, and borrowers hardly have a say in the terms of their contracts. However, this is not the case: like any economic operator, banks are also willing to compromise. Banks’ flexibility varies depending on who and when is seeking preferential treatment and on the contractual terms subject to negotiations.

In this article we tackle two major questions for any real estate investor when taking a decision regarding a future real estate project: to what extent is it permitted to erect buildings on land plots designated as green areas upon their acquisition or upon securing those plots for the future project? And what about when a reconversion of such land plots from green areas into other functions, such as commercial, residential, industrial etc., occurred at some point in the past?

On 2 July 2021, Law of Ukraine “On Amending the Tax Code of Ukraine on Abolition of Taxation of Income Received by Non-Residents in the Form of Payment for Production and/or Distribution of Advertisements and Improvement of Value-Added Taxation of Transactions Involving the Supply of Electronic Services by Non-Residents to Individuals” No. 1525-ІХ (the “Law”) entered into force. The Law introduces VAT on digital services supplied by non-residents to Ukrainian individual customers and abolishes 20% withholding tax on advertising services.

The standard approach in cases involving abuse of dominant position implies that the competition authority determines the market influence of the company due to which it can operate in the relevant market to a significant extent independently of other market participants and, provided that the company has a dominant position, whether its actions result in abuse of such position. The standard approach came naturally in markets that are geographically and economically limited. The core of the principle is that the public authority reacts ex-post (after the event) to abuses, by imposing the obligation to terminate anticompetitive practices or imposing penalties for prohibited behaviour.

The global pandemic has impacted all markets, with subsequent ramifications for M&A. Investors are now seeking greater protection against general lock-downs and supply-chain disruptions, while governments aim to protect critical supplies and services by imposing new regulations on foreign investment in crucial or strategic industries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted digitalization and digital interaction at all levels of European society. Along with increased interconnectivity, however, came greater vulnerabilities and threats from a cybersecurity perspective.

The Health Ministry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have issued Order no. 1204/99/09.07.2021 to supplement Order no. 874/81/2020, which established an obligation to wear a protective mask, epidemiological triage and mandatory hand disinfection to prevent contamination with the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the state of alert (the “Order”) and have published it in the Official Gazette no. 683 dated 9 July 2021.

International trade has grown exponentially, and international trade undoubtedly means international debt collection. Especially, while the number of financially distressed companies is rapidly increasing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, international debt collection has become more important than ever. Debt collection proceedings are in general similar for both Turkish and foreign companies and individuals. Accordingly, this article highlights the significant points on how a foreign company or individual can collect its receivables in Turkey.

With the enactment of the new Law on Personal Data Protection (“Law”) in 2020, North Macedonia largely harmonized its data protection legislation with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Government of Ukraine has recently implemented additional measures to prevent and counteract the legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Thus, Ukraine made one more step towards implementing 4th Money Laundering EU Directive.

The Law on the Protection of Business Secret (Official Gazette of RS, no. 53/2021, “LPBS“) entered into force on 5 June 2021 and it completely repealed the previous law that regulated this matter.

According to the Turkish Commercial Code [“TCC”], the governing and representative body of a joint stock corporation is the “board of directors” [“Board”]. Board members are obliged to carry out their duties with the due care of a cautious manager and to protect the interests of the corporation in good faith. Board members can be held liable for the damages incurred by the corporation, the shareholders, or creditors in cases where they fail to fulfil their duties arising from the law or the articles of association. [TCC Art.553(1)]

The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business (hereinafter "Amendments to the Law"), on May 20, 2021.

Interim attachment is a provisional remedy under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 [the “EBL”] which individuals or legal entities can request for their monetary claims. Thanks to this institution, the debtor’s assets could be frozen to secure due yet unsecured debts, and as a result, the debtor would be forced to pay its debt.

In the first half of 2021, we at VEGAS LEX completed a survey among 100+ foreign lawyers to reveal myths concerning dispute resolution in Russia. In most questions, the respondents were asked to choose “True” or “False” on the proposed statements.

Arbitration is usually a more favored dispute resolution mechanism in the international arena compared to national courts for its many advantages, such as cost efficiency, speed, and confidentiality. That being said, an enforcement procedure also needs to be pursued if and when the arbitral award is not performed willingly by the losing party – which is usually the case. Accordingly, if an arbitral award is rendered in a foreign country or it is considered to be “foreign” according to Turkish law [as explained below], a court process will have to be followed for the enforcement of the award in Turkey.[1]

For the purposes of this review below we assume a hypothetical scenario whereas a company is illegally deprived of assets or investments in Ukraine.