03 Mar 2021

Gecić Law – a proud member of the “Elite” Global Legal Alliance TAGLaw according to Chambers & Partners

Gecic Law is proud to share the great news about a significant recognition received by the prestigious global alliance TAGLaw of which we are an exclusive member for Serbia and Montenegro. TAGLaw, the leading global alliance of law firms, has once again been recognized by Chambers & Partners as “Elite” for 2021, the highest ranking awarded to legal networks and alliances.  For over 30 years, Chambers and Partners has been researching the legal markets of over 180 countries, identifying the leading lawyers, law firms and networks worldwide through interviews with thousands of lawyers and their clients. Chambers prestigious reputation is based on the […]

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01 Mar 2021

The Treaty of Nice Turns 20

The Treaty of Nice, a landmark agreement in the history of the European integration process, celebrated its 20th anniversary last Friday. The legislation was signed on February 26, 2001 and came into force on February 1, 2003. The key aim of the Treaty was to introduce institutional changes and decision-making reform, amending the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Rome, which would allow for the ensuing EU enlargement.  The Treaty introduced qualified majority voting in the European Council, removed national vetoes in many areas and gave the European Parliament the power to elect the Commission President. It formalized the principles […]

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24 Feb 2021

Information Society Service through the Eyes of the CJEU

On December 3, 2020, the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered a judgement in the case Star Taxi App SRL v Unitatea Administrativ Teritorială Municipiul Bucureşti prin Primar General and Consiliul General al Municipiului Bucureşti providing some extremely interesting conclusions, to say the least.  But let us leave the conclusions for later, and first touch upon the factual bits and pieces of the case. The Romanian company SC Star Taxi App SRL is a manager of an application which places users of taxi services directly in touch with taxi drivers all over Romania.  […]

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19 Feb 2021

Serbia and U.S. sign Investment Incentive Agreement

On January 21, 2021, the Republic of Serbia and the U.S. Government signed the Investment Incentive Agreement (“IIA“), still waiting to be ratified by the Serbian Parliament.  The IIA paves the way for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide investment services in Serbia.  In September last year, DFC opened its first office on this side of the Atlantic, right here in Belgrade . The opening of DFC’s office in Belgrade is indeed a significant step forward in US-Serbia relations.  However, this is not their first foray into economic cooperation in this field.  IIA, judging by the available information […]

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12 Feb 2021

EU Digital Saga – the Beginning of the End for Big Tech Supremacy?

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Internet has been a key factor in driving globalization and economic growth in recent years.  Along the same lines, leading internet intermediaries have played an essential role in expediting this growth and providing companies of all sizes with the means to capitalize on all the benefits the digital era has to offer.  Thus, it is hardly surprising that many Internet intermediaries, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google, are among the world’s most successful companies.  However, there are genuine concerns that their economic prosperity and progress are indirectly being encouraged by legislation that shields […]

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09 Feb 2021

“Roam Like at Home” in the Western Balkans as of July 1, 2021

The Necessity of the Digital Single Market… Not only is the global economy flourishing, it is going digital also. Information and communications technology is no longer a specific business sector but the foundation of all modern innovative economic systems. The Internet and digital technologies are transforming the lives we live, the way we work –personally, in business, and in our societies as they increasingly weave their way into all sectors of our economy and community. Consequently, our lives and, especially, our businesses need to follow global trends such as competitive strategies, marketing techniques, and business models, and that would not […]

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05 Feb 2021

Serbia set to allow entrepreneurs to declare bankruptcy: what are the potential solutions and does it set the stage for personal bankruptcy?

The Serbian Ministry of Economy formed a working group to draft an act that will regulate the bankruptcy of entrepreneurs (the “Draft“) following the Program for resolving problem loans for 2018-2020 of the Government of Serbia (the „Program“). Serbian bankruptcy legislation should now be complete since the Bankruptcy Act does not provide for a procedure in which creditors of an entrepreneur could collectively settle their claims. The view of the Government of Serbia stated in the Program, is that bankruptcy in the case of entrepreneurs should be regulated in a way that it could be carried out quickly and efficiently […]

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02 Feb 2021

Removing Competition and/or train tracks?

As you already know, we make it our business to bring you news of cases that are out of the ordinary and interesting in so many ways.  But this one is a first.  It is not new as in recent, because it all began 10 years ago, but new in the context of originality.  What you are about to read is the story of probably the most flagrant “abuse of dominant position” ever. Factual originality Providing the backdrop to this story is a business relationship in the Baltics between Lithuanian Railways (“LR”), the state-owned rail company in Lithuania, with responsibility […]

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29 Jan 2021

Tax Regime Changes on the Horizon & the Tax Administration Crusade Against the Gig Economy (Fact or Fiction)?

    The subject of adequate and/or fair tax regulation is always a hot topic.  Not only because it affects a country’s economy, but also people`s everyday lives.  Updates to tax regulations are almost always controversial.  This article gives an overview of amendments to Serbia’s Value Added Tax (“VAT”), and the wrangling between members of the gig economy and the Tax Administration.  The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia published the Value Added Tax Amendment Bill (“Bill”). The main changes are as follows: Open-end investment funds and alternative investment funds will be liable to VAT; VAT on speculative […]

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22 Jan 2021

The WhatsApp Case: The Love & Hate Relationship between Big Tech and Data Protection

Is there another earthshattering change in the tech sector that will be making headlines for the next few weeks?  Tech behemoths have certainly kept journalists and bloggers on their toes lately due to many recent dramatic changes and major decisions. WhatsApp, a company owned by Facebook, wanted to go the whole nine yards to become the most successful messaging and calls application, so its executives have quite recently reached a decision to update its privacy policy.  As it rolled out the latest updates for Android and iOS, the internet exploded with claims that this encrypted messaging app, whose major selling point […]

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