The new Law of Ukraine “On Concession” (the “2019 Concession Law”) became effective on October 19, 2019, following several years of discussion. As the previous concession law (which was adopted in 1999) provided outdated and unenforceable regulations and was inconsistent with other laws regulating concessions and public-private partnerships in Ukraine, no significant concession projects had been developed in Ukraine for more than 20 years. The 2019 Concession Law provides a chance for Ukraine to overcome legal barriers to the development of concession projects and attract much needed investment into the country’s infrastructure.

Due to the complex constitutional structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina (composed as it is of two entities, Republika Srpska (RS) and Federation of BiH (FBiH), and the Brcko District), logistics, transportation, and shipping matters are regulated on the state level, entity level, and – in FBiH – cantonal administrative level.

Part I – Eppur si Muove

The world is getting older by the minute, and this is a fact.

With a total stock of over 800,000 square meters of office space and several large-scale office projects underway, Belgrade aims to further strengthen its position as a top choice for headquarters of investors operating in Serbia and SEE.

CMS Partner Ana Radnev on developments in Restructuring/Insolvency across CEE

Why would anyone knowingly become a law firm marketing specialist – a role that is demanding, complicated, challenging, and stressful? To explore this mystery, we went to the source. Accordingly, this time around we asked the law firm marketing specialists of CEE to complete the following question: “I went into Law Firm Marketing/BD as a career because ____________.“

The main characteristics of the Macedonian banking market are its small size and the relatively large number of players. According to the latest reports of the National Bank of North Macedonia, out of fifteen active banks, five have significantly higher market shares than the rest. The combined market share of these five biggest banks is 74.4%, with a significant discrepancy between the bank that owns the largest amount of assets (a market share of 22.7%) and the one with the lowest (a market share of 0.5%).

When investors think of attractive and developed capital markets, Croatia’s is probably not the first to come to mind. Can that be changed? 

In 2013, a wide range of changes were introduced in relation to the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. A staple for a wide range of financial products, LIBOR has been the dominant rate for syndicated loans, bonds, and derivatives entered into on the Bulgarian, CEE, and wider European markets. However, following a series of problems over the past decade, the need to move away from LIBOR has become apparent. As panel banks would not be required to submit their references by the end of 2021, the question has become what the alternatives to LIBOR are and how they can be implemented.

Frances Gerrard, a member of CMS’s Corporate and M&A team in Prague, is a long way from her home in Australia. We spoke to her about the path that brought her to the Czech capital.

It’s not easy to get to the top of a profession. Among lawyer in particular, there is fierce competition, great pressure, slim margins of error, and a number of people waiting to capitalize on mistakes. Making it to the top, and staying there, is a tightrope that must be walked over and over. And yet, the Hanslik family has not one but two such high achievers, in two different countries, as Austrian brothers Erwin and Guenther Hanslik have senior positions at offices of two of the most respected and successful international law firms in Europe.

As the country entered the 21st century, Ukraine’s Soviet-era judicial system was widely condemned as corrupt, incompetent, and inefficient. Committed to rectifying the situation, in 2015 the Ukrainian government introduced plans to reform the entire system. That transformation, which was the focus of an August 2017 CEE Legal Matters Round Table, continues today. We reached out to several of the Ukrainian dispute resolution specialists we spoke to several years ago for an update.

Halfway through 2019 Ukraine has already seen major changes in its energy sector’s legal framework, including the effect of the recent decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine involving the legal status and decision-making authority of the Ukrainian energy market regulator (the “Regulator”). The shockwaves are likely to go far beyond 2019.

5G technology is the next stage in the development of wireless telecommunications networks. Thanks to much quicker data transmission speeds and fewer delays, this technology will make it possible to offer new quality services both for public uses such as smart energy grids, transport systems, and smart cities, and for private uses such as autonomous and automated vehicles and smart homes. Also, given the greater number of devices operated by one network unit, 5G will provide for better configuration options, making it possible to offer different services to a large number of users within one infrastructure. This distinguishes 5G technology from the technologies available today, where the activity of one user has an impact on other users and reduces data transmission speed.

In “The Corner Office” we ask Managing Partners across Central and Eastern Europe about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: What was the most difficult or unpleasant experience you had terminating someone’s employment?”

No innovations have ever had the magnitude of impact on everyday life as those pertaining to information technology and communication. As a result of their sophistication, endless amounts of data are readily available to us today, at any moment. Artificial Intelligence, making full use of this abundant resource, is a new technological tool sweeping through our world, promising to once again revolutionize our everyday lives. For that reason, it is of utmost importance that appropriate rules are adopted early on to foster innovation and trust in Artificial Intelligence, while ensuring respect for human rights and democratic values.

It has been over a year since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation became mandatory across Europe, marking a seismic shift in the way that companies collect, process, and handle personal data. Countries across the European Union and beyond have adapted their national laws to meet the requirements of the GDPR – with many introducing local derogations as permitted by the GDPR.