Although it seemed that the tension over Lex Agrokor had somewhat calmed down—and that Mr. Ante Ramljak, in the capacity of extraordinary administrator by the Croatian Government, will lead the Croatian company in the forthcoming period—the public has been alarmed by the recent announcement by ex-owner, Mr. Ivica Todorić. On his personal blog, which was visited by more than 180,000 readers in the first 24 hours, Mr. Todorić, in a series of articles, criticizes the conduct of the Republic of Croatia (RC) and points to the unconstitutionality of Lex Agrokor. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (“Constitutional Court”) […]
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The trust buster himself, President Theodore Roosevelt, looks on as a trust is squeezed by Treasury Secretary George B. Cortelyou Illustration by Udo J. Keppler, courtesy of Library of Congress In 2015, Professor Dijana Marković Bajalović, one of the founders and renowned presidents of the National Competition Authority (NCA), and the country’s most respected trust-buster – during her tenure at the NCA, Professor Bajalović took on Delta, for the illegal takeover of C Market, and other major incumbents, a feat unheard off at the time (and was eventually removed from office in 2010) – along with others, filed a constitutional challenge […]
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We want to kindly thank CorD Magazine for the recent interview of Bodgan Gecić published today, in their October 2017 issue (link). Some of the questions posed in this interview include: what are the challenges of building a creative law firm in Serbia and the West Balkans, and innovating in a profession viewed by many as traditional; what are the major legal & business challenges ahead during the course of Serbia’s EU accession negotiations; and how we as a firm give back to the community with our pro bono work, our scholarship and counseling students regarding application to US universities. […]
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The public debate on the Draft of Amendments of the Companies Act, suggested and prepared by the Ministry of Economy in April, will take place in Belgrade on 4th October 2017. As part of the drafting procedure, the Ministry tried to identify and address business sector`s concerns regarding the Companies Act and identify areas where amendments to current regulatory framework might be needed. In order to facilitate the above-mentioned, the working group also included representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, with more than 60% of the comments submitted by the companies to the Ministry, being adopted. […]
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On September 20, 2017 the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU“) issued so far the most significant judgment concerning the loans denominated in Swiss francs (the “CHF”). Namely, by judgment in case C-186/16 (Ruxanda Paula Andriciuc and Others v. Banca Românească SA), the CJEU ruled that a financial institution which grants a loan denominated in a foreign currency is liable to provide the borrower with sufficient information, in order to enable him to make a thorough assessment of economic risks and consequences of entering into such contract, and to make a prudent decision on this issue. The […]
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For the first time since Agrokor—one of the leading regional companies with almost 60,000 employees, became the biggest national news in the Balkans for facing liquidity issues—former Agrokor owner, Ivica Todoric, broke his silence, claiming he gave up control “under duress” and that “this is not Parmalat” indicating a potential and broader legal battle against the Croatian state on multiple fronts? Possible ramifications may include EU law, state aid & competition issues, constitutional claims, ECHR and even more. The extensive public announcement issued today and signed by Mr. Todoric points to “an unconstitutional and illegal nationalization” and states he “will […]
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The National Bank of Serbia adopted alterations and amendments to seven by-laws in the field of payment operations, thus resolving the dilemma regarding the liability of companies to use their corporate stamp when using payment services. The rule that companies are not obliged to use stamps in their business letters and other documents (unless otherwise prescribed by law), was explicitly set with the Companies Act, that became applicable in 2012. Even with the Payment Services Act, which applies since October of 2015 and which, in accordance with relevant EU directives provides that legal entities and entrepreneurs are not liable to […]
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The preeminent competition blog in Europe, Chillin’Competition put out a piece on the most recent developments in Serbia and the Balkans together with an exclusive publication of our constitutional challenge in English (available for download). This is one of the rare if not the only time for this region to come under the spotlight of this esteemed competition blog. Created in 2009, Chillin’Competition, under its mantra “Relaxing whilst doing Competition Law is not an Oxymoron” developed a cult following among competition practitioners, economists and aspiring law graduates across Europe and beyond thanks to its peculiar brand of legal humor, in-depth analysis […]
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Both Serbia and Montenegro have come under pressure from the European Commission to amend their respective Corporate Profit Tax Acts to bring tax incentives in line with EU law. This update provides a closer look and analysis, which suggests that amendments are an option worth considering for both Serbia and Montenegro. However, any such legislative change would need to be implemented in a manner that takes into account the interests of all stakeholders, including the interests of investors benefiting from the existing incentive schemes. The European Commission in Chapter 8 of its Screening Report for Serbia, emphasized that specific aid […]
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On September 11, 2017, the Bar Association of Serbia (AKS), the country’s national bar, submitted a constitutional challenge to the Constitutional Court against the Competition Act and all secondary legislation, as announced on its website. This landmark development was supported by a unanimous vote of the national Bar’s Board, including representatives of all regional and city bars. Together with the challenge, the Bar Association submitted a motion for stay of proceedings under way against the Association before the Serbian Competition Commission. With around 10,000 lawyers, the Serbian Bar Association is the largest assembly of legal professionals in the West Balkans. […]
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