The purpose of this brief is to highlight the consequences of the unilateral decision by the state of Croatia, as a member of the European Union, to close its borders for transport coming from Serbia between 17 and 25 September 2015 and to emphasize potential breaches of legal principles the EU has been founded on. We take into consideration the multitude of acts, treaties and agreements which constitute legal sources of the European Union, as well as precedents set by the highest court of the EU, and explore potential avenues for legal redress for those whose interests were harmed by […]
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Dear Clients, Partners & Friends, The team at Gecić Law is pleased to announce the launch of our revolutionary new website. To create something truly unique, we built on global best practices and most innovative solutions. A website tailored for the greatest web experience that aims to set the bar high in the CEE legal industry and beyond, and show what can be done by a very resolute local firm empowered by innovation and the perseverance to turn its vision into a reality. We applied creative thinking in law and communication to provide a window into our culture and deliver powerful […]
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This Short Guide provides guidance on how to ensure an effective response to an unannounced inspection (known as a “dawn raid”) of the Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia (further Competition Commission). Topics covered include: What to do at the beginning of a dawn raid Managing an ongoing dawn raid What to do at the end of a dawn raid Do’s and Don’ts at each stage This Short Guide will consider the key practical points and legal issues to bear in mind when facing a dawn raid. It should be used to assist your company in providing […]
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On October 1, 2015, the new Payment Services Act came into force. This new piece of legislation introduced numerous and rather important changes to the Serbian payment operations system. These changes are also a part of Serbia’s harmonization with European Union laws and business practices, which presumes liberalization of payment services provision and widening of authorized service providers in this field, other than the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and licensed banks, will have a significant positive impact on the market efficiency. One of the most significant changes in this sense introduced in the Payment Services Act relates to the formation of a […]
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On 4 September 2015, the Competition Commission, Serbian competition watchdog, closed an investigation against Agriser, a subsidiary of Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. and a member of Ferrero Group, owner of brands with global recognition including Nuttela, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, etc. This case may, as well, indicate an increasing interest of the Serbian antitrust authority in tackling concentrations in the form of asset deals subject to the privatization procedures. In April this year Agriser purchased entire assets of Aleksa Šantić, a Serbian company active in the production of primary agriculture produces, within the framework of a public bid procedure governed by Privatization Agency of the […]
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On July 7, 2015, the long awaited amendments to Serbia’s 2005 Mortgage Act have been adopted. The amendments brought several important changes, primarily aimed at increasing the efficacy of the foreclosure proceedings, but also at eliminating some provisions shown to be obsolete. The following is a brief overview of the aforementioned key amendments. In terms of mortgage creation, one rather simple improvement is that the person having the direct possession of the real estate is no longer required to give its written statement agreeing with establishing the mortgage over the respective real estate. This should make the procedure of creating […]
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According to the data provided by the Serbian Privatization Agency (as of September 21, 2015), there are currently 357 companies involved in the process of privatization. On the other hand, the Privatization Act requires for the privatization process to be completed before December 31, 2015. Save for 188 companies, for which the Government already adopted an action plan for the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings (due to no productivity, no interests from potential investors and unsustainable financial performance), it remains to be seen how many companies will actually find a genuine buyer, and thus, avoid bankruptcy proceedings before the December deadline. Hence, while awaiting […]
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