Initially regulated as a voluntary mediation system, through its official introduction to our legal system with the adoption of Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes in 2012, such was later accepted as "mandatory" in labor disputes, then in commercial disputes, and finally in consumer disputes.

The Slovak Republic was one of the last countries in the region to adopt the Foreign Direct Investment Screening Act, which introduces a comprehensive mechanism for screening foreign investments for the purpose of protecting security and public order based on Regulation (EU) 2019/452.

In 2022, the Romanian competition authority focused on closing important investigations, recorded the highest number of cleared mergers in recent history and set the legislative framework for new directions of action and analysis.

The Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic will soon decide whether to pay for the Czech Republic to become part of the prestigious MICHELIN Guide. The MICHELIN Guide is asking for CZK 10 million for this "service" for the next three years.

In judicial proceedings, parties prefer arbitration because it is often faster than state courts. However, arbitration proceedings also require a certain period of time to reach a final arbitral decision. During this period, interim protection measures are needed to ensure that the proceedings achieve the desired goal and to guarantee the rights to be obtained as a result of the proceedings. In case of the protection of monetary receivables, a precautionary attachment is decided, and in case of the protection of rights other than money, a precautionary injunction is decided.

New amendments entered into force in relation to the Croatian land registry legislation.

Promulgated in December 2022 more than 3 years after its initiation, the new law on social dialogue, Law no. 367/2022, has the declared aim of facilitating social dialogue and the exercise of certain employee rights.

 When a plaintiff decides to litigate only part of his claim, the question arises whether the ‘res judicata’ effect of the final judgment precludes a new lawsuit for the unclaimed part of the claim? The Hungarian Supreme Court’s recently issued a uniformity decision on this question. What will be the impact of this ruling? We address the question by analysing the uniformity decision.

Tax information exchange aims to enable tax authorities to receive information about their residents' foreign financial accounts and assets and identify potential tax evasion or non-compliance.

On 24 January 2023, a new law called LEX OZE I. (Act No. 19/2023 Coll.) entered into force. The goal of this law is to remove obstacles and speed up the construction of renewable energy sources ("RES").

According to the Labour Law (Off. Gazette of the RS no. 24/2005, 61/2005, 54/2009, 32/2013, 75/2014, 13/2017 – decision of the CC, 113/2017 and 95/2018 – authentic interpretation), an employee with health issues, established by the competent medical authority pursuant to the law, shall not be allowed to pursue work that could result in deterioration of their health or consequences dangerous for their environment (Article 81, paragraph 2).

The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) is encouraging the banking sector to increase the level of green loans. To this end, significantly reduced capital requirements have been put in place when applying for loans, and green company bonds were introduced in summer 2020 as part of the MNB bond funding for growth scheme. The Hungarian government is now ready to intervene to achieve climate neutrality.

The Capital Markets Board [the "CMB"] introduced critical amendments to the sale methods and distribution principles to be applied to initial public offering of shares of non-public companies with the publication of its Decision No. i-SPK.128.21 [the “Decision"] on March 30, 2023. Accordingly, the relevant provisions of the Communiqué on Sales of Capital Market Instruments No. II.5.2 of the CMB will be superseded by the rules outlined in the Decision until a contradicting decision is made.

Mediation as a way of resolving disputes between parties has existed for a long time now. However, not many have been willing to take part in the mediation process and use this way of resolving disputes, whose main purpose is to achieve a solution acceptable to both parties. It seems that long-lasting court proceedings and often expensive arbitration processes have shed light on a more amicable, faster, and more economical way of resolving disputes – mediation.

The European Court of Justice established in its ruling of 28 February 2023 that online platform OnlyFans is liable for value added tax (VAT) on the full amount paid by subscribers to content creators, not only on the 20% fee that the platform is charging creators of the sums paid by fans. This decision supports the position of the UK tax authority (HMRC) and further emphasizes the tax obligations of online platforms, regardless of their place of establishment.

In the beginning of February 2023, amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (“CPC“), dedicated to the digitalization of the order for payment procedure were promulgated. In the motives of the draft law, it is noted that the changes are in line with the tendency in the European Union towards the digitalization of this procedure, as well as with the aim of allocating judicial resources in a more optimal way through the centralized distribution of the order for payment procedures among regional judges across the country. In this way, an attempt is made towards overcoming the uneven workload of the judges from the different regions, respectively towards acceleration of the court proceedings.

On 1 April 2023, the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (ITCA) published decision no. 2023/DK-İD/119, dated 28 March 2023, regarding the new set of Principles and Procedures for Social Network Providers ("New Principles and Procedures") in the Official Gazette no. 32150.

With Chat GPT the world is witnessing the first visible mass use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in complex intellectual works. Although AI is not any novelty in the world, it seems that in 2023 Chat GPT made a real breakthrough in the everyday use of AI assistance to humanity.