The latest amendment to the Labour Code implemented, among other things, the EU Directives on Work-life Balance and on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions into Czech law. The amendment was enacted by the President of the Czech Republic on 17 September 2023 and entered into force shortly thereafter, on 1 October 2023. The deadline for transposing these directives had already passed, so it is a case of better late than never.

Recently, there has been a strong trend in several EU Member States to correct economy imbalances through price and tariff capping measures. This is also the case in Romania, where certain industries or market segments are subject to capping and control measures. (e.g., MTPL insurance, certain segments of the energy market, staple foods, etc.).

There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic was a fundamental shock to the Hungarian economy. Many business operators have tried to reduce their losses by terminating contracts, referring to the coronavirus as force majeure cause and there have now been more court decisions in such cases. A recent one deals with the question whether a long-term framework contract may be terminated because of the impossibility of the performance, invoking the coronavirus as a force majeure.

Albania is taking significant steps towards ending its five-year prohibition on sports betting, with a draft law recently passing for consideration in the Albanian Parliament. The initial Gambling Law of 2015 defined permissible games of chance, regulated industry conditions, and outlined oversight responsibilities. However, since 2018, Albania has strictly banned gambling activities, except for those within state-sanctioned casinos.

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian Tax Code underwent significant amendments with the adoption of Law N 2970-IX. This legislation integrates the Common Reporting Standard into Ukrainian domestic tax law. As part of these broader changes, the law establishes distinct provisions applicable to trustees and trust administrators.

Anyone who has seen venture capital investments has probably encountered the expressions “vesting” or “reverse vesting”.

Most people clearly understand the need for insurance when renting or owning real estate. However, a common problem is knowing what to consider when insuring and what to look for or remember regarding insurance policy conditions when it has been signed and damage occurs. I’ll highlight five essential nuances often overlooked by companies and individuals when insuring their rented or personal real estate, drawing from my more than 25 years of experience in insurance law.

What regulatory changes can issuers expect? For the Polish capital market, recent years have been quite intense, primarily in terms of amendments to regulations, both domestic and EU. The most significant changes in these regulations can be expected at the end of 2023.

We are a law firm that is dedicated to recovering assets for victims of financial crime when the assets or scammers are located in Bulgaria. Nowadays, a growing number of people become victims of a sophisticated ongoing criminal fraud scheme involving an unknown number of organised participants from different countries. The fraudsters aim to deceive the victims to transfer significant amounts of money to the fraudster’s bank accounts in Bulgaria. Then, the scammers usually move the received sum to a bank account in a country outside the European Union.  However, these transfers are in breach of Bulgarian and international anti-money laundering law.

On 23 September 2023, the Act on Preventive Restructuring came into force, which brought a new legal institute into the Czech legal environment – preventive restructuring, through which companies will be able to resolve their unfavorable economic situation.

In June 2023 Hungary introduced a new ground for annulling construction arbitration awards, which applies where arbitrators fail to deliberate the opinion of the Performance Certification Expert Body. Will this amendment affect so negatively Hungarian construction arbitrations as believed by many commentators? This article argues that paradoxically, the new law can even strengthen the position of arbitration as alternative dispute resolution method in construction matters.

With a potential WeWork restructuring on the horizon, this article explores some issues landlords may face under their WeWork leases, with a focus on how courts in Poland might address them.

Everyone is free to choose their work, time, or place of engagement and the profession they will commit to. The Serbian Constitution grants these basic human rights while also envisaging that all jobs are available to everyone under equal conditions. A similar principle is founded under the Law on Protection of Competition - that the protection of competition on the market of RS is regulated with the aim of economic progress and the well-being of society as a whole, especially to the consumer’s benefit. However, these are only the general principles that are subject to numerous constraints with the purpose of either protecting basic human rights, preventing unfair competition, or harboring the whole economic system with the consumers and companies as its vital participants.

The impact and perception of ESG considerations in the CEE region, and specifically in the Czech Republic, is still in the early stages of its evolutionary path, compared to, say, the U.K., the U.S., or larger Western European economies. There is certain skepticism and uncertainty as to what this new trendy acronym means and if, at the end of the day, it will really impact a Czech industrial family business, a hotel, or a high-tech start-up. ESG considerations, policies, and metrics are likely to be more familiar (and implemented to a certain degree) to a large Czech company – moreover, when it’s a part of an international corporate group – rather than a smaller Czech enterprise, but of course, there are exceptions to the rule.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the Czech Republic has finally adopted a law that introduces institutional protection for whistleblowers in accordance with European legislation. The Whistleblower Protection Act (Act) will come into force on August 1, 2023.

Since the onset of the Russian invasion in 2014, and particularly since the full-scale invasion that began on February 24, 2022, Ukraine has found itself in the epicenter of a new and challenging reality. This ongoing conflict has sparked a remarkable surge in Ukraine’s defense technology sector.

More than two years ago, in April 2021, the European Commission presented its long-awaited proposal to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe. AI is a rapidly developing group of technologies. Today, there is little doubt that these technologies have the potential to bring (and are already bringing) enormous economic and societal benefits across a wide range of industries and social activities. However, in the absence of legal regulation, these technologies can also be abused, with particularly severe consequences for both individuals and society.

On June 22, 2023, the Polish telecommunications regulator (the President of UKE) announced an auction of 3,6 GHZ frequencies intended for the 5G network. The auction will consist of a few phases, including submissions of initial bids, a formal assessment, trial auctions, auctions, and reservations of frequencies. It is expected that the auction will be settled this year. Despite the announced plans, the auction is affected by significant cybersecurity issues which have yet to be resolved.