The Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 [the “TCC”] designates the Board of Directors [the “Board”] as one of the two compulsory executive bodies of the joint stock corporations (in Turkish: anonim şirket) – the other one is the general assembly of shareholders [the “GA”]. Accordingly, the Board is entitled to take all necessary decisions in order to carry out all business and transactions required to perform the company’s scope of activity excluding those falling within the exclusive authority of the GA stipulated by law and the articles of association [the “AoA”] of the company. That is to say, the Board is designated as the main competent body of a joint stock corporation under Turkish law. 

On the 10th of June 2020, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic passed a judgment in case Ref. No. 31 ICdo 36/2020, which dealt with the validity of a contract concluded between the sole proprietor of a company and the same company represented by its sole proprietor. In this case, the Supreme Court deviated from its past decisions on the issue of interpretation of the notion of manifest disruption of public order. Whereas the Supreme Court had previously interpreted the word “manifest” as expressing the degree of intensity of public disturbance, the current decision accepted that a manifest disruption of public order could be interpreted as an undoubted or unambiguous disruption of public order, without regard to the intensity of the disruption.

The Supreme Administrative Court is gradually granting more rights to environmental organisations (EOs) in nature conservation procedures. Following a December 2020 ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court regarding the party status of EOs (for further details please see "New ruling expands environmental organisations' rights in nature conservation procedures"), the Supreme Administrative Court remains on course with its pro-EO case law. In recent months, the court has issued several more interesting rulings that seem to strengthen EOs' position in nature conservation proceedings.

International arbitration is a highly popular instrument of the dispute resolution, and, therefore, the actual recovery of debts is a matter of high importance. Meanwhile, creditors often face problems in the process of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Russia. Statistics for 2020 shows that 87 of 244 claims submitted to Russian courts were dismissed (35.6%). This means that each third claimant cannot count on receiving the funds in reality.

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. ​If you are considering investment opportunities in Lithuania, take a look at this overview to get insight into the regulations on foreign investment in strategic industries.

The VAT legislation applicable to cross-border e-commerce will be modernised at EU level by new EU e-commerce rules with effect from 1 July 2021. The new rules will allow companies selling goods online to fulfil certain VAT obligations at EU level via a digital online portal (the “One-Stop Shop”, OSS), hosted by their own revenue agencies and in their own languages. These rules have been in place for online sellers of e-services since 2015, when the “Mini One-Stop Shop” or MOSS was implemented.

Capital Markets Board of Turkey [the "Board"] released a public press on February 1, 2021 regarding the issuance of the Draft Communiqué Amending the Communiqué on Tender Offers No. II-26.1 [the "Draft Amendment”] which envisages to make certain amendments to the Communiqué on Tender Offer No. II-26.1 [the "Communiqué"]. In this respect, while some existing provisions will be clarified with the Draft Amendment, the scope of the circumstances which do not trigger the tender offer obligation and the exceptions to mandatory offers will be expanded.

The "Regulation on the Conduct of Trials by Audio and Video Transmission in Civil Procedures" ["Regulation"] was published in the Official Gazette dated 30 June 2021 numbered 31527 and entered into force on the same date. The Regulation sets out the procedures of e-hearings, which have become more important due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Regulation, e-hearings will have the same legal consequences with the physical hearings.

On 30 June 2021, the Polish President signed an Act (“Amendment”) changing the so-called Anti-Crisis Shield (i.e. Act on specific solutions related to the preventing, counteracting and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, and certain other acts).

The global crisis, which arose as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, brought light, among other things, to the weaknesses of the Serbian public health care system. The daily mass collection of a person’s data on health – which, according to the Serbian Data Protection Act, is considered particularly sensitive data – became a regular occurrence during the pandemic.

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.

The Law amending the Law on Excise (Official Gazette of RS, no. 53/2021) entered into force on 5 June 2021 and its novelties refer to the excise for alcoholic beverages. 

Mediation is essentially a dispute resolution method; and an ancient institution throughout the history of mankind that is traditionally recognized in almost all societies. Instead of bringing an action before court; by applying mediation, the disputing groups [i.e., the villagers, townsfolk or members of a profession] discuss the issue with the assistance of a third person, and that third person assists parties in reaching a settlement. In this conventional system based on the fundamental principle of freedom of will, mediation is perceived to be an “alternative” dispute resolution method free from the coercive power of state. Such situation similarly appears in the settlement of disputes between the states.

In the last decade, we have witnessed a significant transformation in the area of transportation services. Several new transportation service providers have entered the market, the offer has increased considerably, and accordingly, the price of the service has decreased. On every corner of the global metropolis, you can see a car of a different transportation company (Yandex, Uber, Cargo…) and customers are now able cheaper than ever move from point A to point B. Private transportation providers have higher profits than ever, and everyone seems to be pleased.

The Polish private rental sector is about to enter a period of intensive development. Unlike the western EU Member States, where the share of rented apartments often significantly exceeds 50%, in Poland, only approximately 15% of apartments are rented out (about 2.3 million out of a total of 14.8 million apartments existing in Poland).

With a view to eliminate barriers to new investments in renewable power generation capacities, the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (“ANRE”) has recently amended the Regulation for the connection of the users to the public interest grid (the “Connection Regulation”) for eliminating a highly debated requirement of the grid connection process. The change was made through Order no. 41/2021 for the amendment of the Connection Regulation which was published in the Official Gazette of Romania on June 23, 2021 (the “Order no. 41/2021”).

It is a fact that international transactions - despite global disasters such as the Covid19 pandemic - continue inevitably and without slowing down. Hence, the scope of information exchange between countries on the assets of citizens and residents is also expanding, in order to ensure that the taxes are paid in the right amount to the right jurisdiction. Information exchange between countries matter not only for dual citizens but also for people who profit or make investments overseas.

On June 19, 2021, the Law No. 7327 Amending the Execution and Bankruptcy Law and Some Other Laws [“Amendment Law”] was published in the Official Gazette, and accordingly, significant amendments have been introduced to the Execution and Bankruptcy Law [“EBL”]. This client alert aims to outline these amendments.