13 Jul 2021

Serbia Passes New Protection of Business Secrets Act

The last decade has completely changed the way we do business.  Developments in technology have led to tremendous progress in nearly all sectors, leading to previously unknown issues in the process. One of the questions raised is how to protect business secrets in the knowledge economy. Recognizing the problem, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, after nearly a decade, passed a new Protection of Business Secrets Act (“the Act“).  The Act was passed on May 27, 2021 and entered into force on June 5th this year.  The Act harmonizes Serbian regulations with the regulations of the European Union. […]

Details
12 Jul 2021

New Bill on the Regulation of the Agricultural Products Market

In the Republic of Serbia, agricultural policy is based on the Act on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Act on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development.  However, none of these two acts enable the regulation of the agricultural products market and the introduction of new market regulation mechanisms, which are necessary to help Serbian agriculture maintain steady development.  Market mechanisms in the Republic of Serbia are not in accordance with the common EU market organization.  Serbia lacks a similar unique legal framework to implement most measures of market regulation. In order to harmonize further with mechanisms in the EU, […]

Details
08 Jul 2021

Cryptocurrencies: Our future or our present?

Crypto, crypto, crypto…Wherever you go, whoever you talk to, crypto must be mentioned.  In the last few years, and especially in the last few months, virtual currencies and digital tokens have seen a true expansion.  More and more people are getting interested in crypto and are starting to trade in them.  As a result, the importance of cryptocurrencies is rising. “New” business and new earnings? Naturally, corporate giants recognized the upward trend and did not want to miss this “historical moment” to create a completely new way of doing business by entering a new market that generates huge profits. Recently, […]

Details
05 Jul 2021

Fit for 55 – The Future of Europe

At the event hosted by the API/IPA international press association, Slovenia revealed the priorities of its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU and the Fit for 55 legislative package stole the spotlight all for itself.  Before leaning into the story of Fit for 55, let us make a quick turn to the conference held just a few days ago. Slovenia is taking over the Council of the EU presidency for the next six months.  The country’s Permanent Representative to the EU Mr. Iztok Jarc and his deputy Ms. Tamara Weingerl-Požar laid out the priorities of the presidency.  Of […]

Details
28 Jun 2021

The end of LIBOR

This year will bring big changes, at least when it comes to financial markets.  Namely, 2021 is when the long-awaited abolition of LIBOR will take place.  Although there was a lot of talk about technical obstacles that need to be overcome, change was seemingly inevitable. LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) is the daily reference interest rate at which banks lend to each other on the interbank market.  It gained in importance in the 1990s, when the British Banking Association (“BBA”) settled relevant standards of regulation, the collection and analysis of data obtained, which will serve as a basis for calculating […]

Details
25 Jun 2021

Data protection and Big Tech: Is it just a bump in the road?

The topic of data protection and Big Tech keeps on giving.  It appears the subject of data protection simply does not want to leave the main stage and wishes to remain in everyone’s center of attention.  This should not come as a surprise, since the world is only starting to become more integrated in terms of digital services provided by Big Tech companies. The most recent “controversy” on data protection and Big Tech comes from Germany, or to be more precise, Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data Protection (“Commissioner”).  The Commissioner investigated Facebook’s use of personal data gathered from WhatsApp users and […]

Details
21 Jun 2021

Serbia: One small step for a legislator means one big step for the EU acquis alignment

In the process of gradually aligning its legislation with the EU acquis the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted two bylaws on 11 March 2021 in the field of state aid, complementary to the recently adopted new State Aid Control Act. All this adds value to the start of talks on the Chapter 8 – Competition Policy of Serbia’s negotiation process and may speed up Serbia’s EU accession. Regional Aid Regulation This regulation is designed to promote economic development of the least developed regions or the development of regions with a high level of unemployment. It also allows state […]

Details
14 Jun 2021

Gatekeepers and Digital Markets – EU Digital Saga continues

Some reports say that it would be impossible to live in the digital world outside of the ecosystem created by Big Tech giants.  The concentration of power in a small number of platforms has allowed some tech companies, popularly known as the Four Horsemen” to exercise unparalleled economic power and social impact almost without any oversight by regulators.  These companies have complete market dominance, each in their respective field of expertise: Apple in consumer electronics and mobile operating systems;  Facebook in the social media, Google in online searches, video-sharing and mapping-based navigation; and, finally, Amazon in the e-commerce market.  Hence, […]

Details
10 Jun 2021

The Status of Influencers in North Macedonia

The imaginary familiarity with a famous person through platforms such as Instagram is more common when the other party is a so-called influencer – a person that enjoys appreciation of a large number of users due to their reputation.  The imaginary closeness is, on the other hand, a very powerful tool in hands of influencers as users often aspire to emulate their lifestyle.  However, the lifestyle the influencer presents is not always genuine as the content presented often includes (some form of) promotion.  When an influencer shows on their profile that they use a certain product, there is a great […]

Details
08 Jun 2021

Ognjen Colić Discusses Local Projects at 4th Serbian PPP Conference

Ognjen Colić, head of Gecić Law’s corporate practice, spoke at the 4th Serbian Public Private Partnership Conference, a hybrid event held today, organized under the auspices of the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the British Embassy in Belgrade, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia. Opening remarks were delivered by several high government officials and experts, including Tomislav Momirovic, Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure and Andjelka Atanackovic, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Serbia.  Besides high government officials, developers, contractors and service providers engaged in public-private partnerships also attended […]

Details