A ground-breaking Partnership, Trade, and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Serbia was signed in Belgrade on Monday. The comprehensive document sets a new legal basis for the development of bilateral trade, as it effectively replaces Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and ensures continuity in preferential trade between the two countries after January 1, 2021, when the UK formally withdrew from the European Union. As it comes into force, the Agreement will reduce the added complexity and expenses businesses have had to face since the beginning of this year, with customs duties of up to 20% being introduced. This has significantly affected both Serbian exporters and more than 400 […]
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During the session held on March 18, Serbian MPs adopted the Climate Change Act (the “Act”). The Minister of Environmental Protection, Ms. Irena Vujović noted that “the issues concerning environmental protection and climate change are of high priority and have finally received deserved attention from the Government of Serbia.” The main goal of the Act is to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, as the accelerated development of technology and international trade make pollution, and especially emissions of GHG, a global problem. Long History of Global Climate Change Mitigation Acts The United Nations (the “UN”) noted the impending problems caused by […]
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At Gecić Law, we are delighted whenever we have the opportunity to reward professionals who best represent our core values. With this in mind, we are proud to announce another round of expansion and congratulate three of our star legal professionals. These include the promotion of Ivana Stojanović Raišić from Senior Associate to Counsel, while Jelena Škorić and Danica Misojčić will be promoted to Senior Associate positions. “We’re pleased to promote Ivana, Jelena and Danica. Our strategy has always been to build talent and reward the exceptional contribution of our team to the firm. It is truly wonderful to watch […]
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One of the significant novelties in Serbian legislation refers to the regulation of electronic invoicing through the Electronic Invoicing Bill (the “Bill“). The adoption of the Bill is on the agenda of the National Assembly on April 21, and it remains to be seen whether the Bill will be modified and if so, which provisions will be changed. Reasons for the adoption of the Bill One of the key reasons for the adoption of the Bill is further harmonization of Serbian legislation with European Union law. Additionally, in the words of the Minister of Finance, the Bill ”improves the transparency, […]
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Governmental legislation on compulsory vaccination does not violate the European Convention on Human Rights (“Convention”), the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR” or “Court”) ruled on April 8. Particularly, the ECHR noted that compulsory vaccination of children in the Czech Republic did not violate the right to respect for private life. The Case Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic The complaint was raised with reference to a fine imposed on Mr Vavřička and the non-admission of the child applicants to nursery school. The applicants said the legislation violated their rights under the Convention. Applicants claimed that the Czech state […]
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In these times of rapidly changing markets, the UK’s competition law determined the need for more clarity in existing rules, as well as an appetite to revise the ones which proved to be obsolete. This resulted in updated guidelines on merger assessment, following a comprehensive public debate. So, let’s check out the latest news from UK’s competition watchdog! The Competition and Markets Authority of the UK (“CMA”) highlighted its mandate to promote competition across the UK and beyond. The CMA’s goal is to protect consumers through its merger work and help companies and their advisers assess whether competition concerns might be […]
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After a short break from our previous reflections on the EU’s new set of regulations concerning digital markets (more details available here), we are back with an even more vivid and thorough breakdown of the proposed regulation. To pick up where we left off, we will be taking a closer look at the Digital Services Act (“DSA“ or „Act“). As we have already familiarized ourselves with the EU’s goals and ambitions regarding new digital market regulation, we can now fully indulge ourselves by taking a closer look at the Act. We hope that you managed to catch your breath because […]
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For many years now, watching movies and series has shifted to various internet platforms, while authors are wondering where their copyrights are in all of this. Answers to that question should be provided by the Copyright and Related Rights Act (‟Copyright Act”), which came into operation more than 11 years ago, during a surge in the use of various data exchange platforms. Data is exchanged much faster, and computer technology is far more complex than it was before, and the Copyright Act is lagging behind in its response to emerging challenges regarding new ways of using technology and protecting authors. […]
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In the last few months, the Serbian National Competition Authority (“NCA”) has turned its attention to sanctioning agreements between undertakings where resale prices are maintained. After taking cases against consumer electronics undertakings, the NCA recently opened an investigation against a general importer and its three car dealers of “Audi” vehicles, in the course of its sectoral analysis of the markets of sales and after-sales services of motor vehicles. Resale Price Maintenance – What is the Problem? Resale price maintenance (“RPM”) is a contractual provision where the supplier (usually the manufacturer or general importer) binds the buyer (usually the distributor or […]
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As the famous Arabic proverb says, ‘Silence is golden’. And it seems that this nugget of ancient wisdom still holds true today – even in law; even when it comes to a high-profile case before the European Court of Justice. To find out why would silence be so important as to cause a stir among lawyers throughout Europe, we must track back to the beginning. What happened? On February 2, 2021, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) released a landmark ruling on due process rights in preliminary reference from the Italian Constitutional Court in DB v Commissione Nazionale per le […]
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