Client Alerts
The shareholder rights and activism review: Austria
Shareholder activism remains a prominent, and likely permanent, feature of the global corporate landscape. Recent activism-related trends indicate that the Austrian corporate landscape is shifting, and companies’ strategies for dealing with activism should therefore also evolve. Sarah Wared's contribution deals as a primer on these aspects of shareholder activism in Austria....
Amendment to the Czech business corporations act 2021 (Part I)
An amendment to the Czech Business Corporations Act will come into effect on 1 January 2021. This amendment will result in substantial changes to the duties and obligations of corporations and their bodies. This update, Part 1, relates to the impact on the position of members of executive bodies. Part II, which will be released […]...
Decision-making by shareholders of Slovenian companies during Covid-19
As a result of recently enacted COVID19-related legislation in Slovenia, referred to as “ZIUOPDVE”, companies are now permitted to carry out general meetings without the requirement of the physical presence of shareholders or their proxies. Shareholders can participate by electronic means or the general meeting can be held virtually. This applies for general meetings convoked […]...
Romania: Minimum network and information systems security requirements to be complied with by the operators of essential services in the next 6 months
On 26 November 2020, Romania adopted new technical rules on minimum requirements to ensure the security of network and information systems applicable to operators of essential services. The technical rules establish four security areas: governance, defence, cybersecurity and resilience. Operators of essential services must comply with the technical rules within 6 months of the date […]...
Slovenia – Are your business performance bonuses discriminatory?
A November 2020 judgment of the Slovenian Administrative Court, confirming a previous decision of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, ruled that the widespread practice of tying the amounts of business performance bonuses to employees’ presence at work is discriminatory. The reasoning of the Advocate stems from the Protection Against Discrimination Act, which prohibits […]...
CJEU: Why Airbnb is not Uber
The CJEU recently ruled that the intermediation service offered by Airbnb Ireland is an “information society service” in the light of the E-Commerce Directive. We have summarised the decision in our Client Alert, especially since it contains interesting aspects for the differentiation of an information society service from the underlying overall service (e.g. the intermediation […]...
International comparative legal guide – Foreign direct investment regimes 2021
The International Comparative Legal Guide - Foreign Direct Investment Regimes 2021 is a critical resource for legal practitioners and industry specialists who are looking for detailed and up-to-date information on FDI Regimes in the CEE/SEE region and beyond (including any relevant changes stemming from Covid-19). Combining high-level policy analysis with a clear breakdown of procedural and substantive requirements, the easy-to-navigate country chapters are broken down into:...
EDPB on Schrems II: The end of U.S. cloud services?
The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in July 2020 in Schrems II left companies without a clear framework for transfers to the US. In August 2020, authorities highlighted that the invalidation of the Privacy Shield is enforceable without any grace period and that the use of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) […]...
BVergG 2018 passiert Ministerrat
Vom BVergG 2017 zum BVergG 2018 Da die bereits bekannte Regierungsvorlage zum BVergG 2017 in der abgelaufenen Legislaturperiode nicht mehr vom Parlament verabschiedet wurde, war für die – bereits überfällige – Umsetzung der EU-Vergaberichtlinie (2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU etc) ein neuer Entwurf erforderlich. Dieser hat nunmehr den Ministerrat passiert und wird daher demnächst als Regierungsvorlage vom Parlament […]...
Unionsmarken und der Brexit – Was Unternehmen jetzt beachten sollten
Wie Medienberichten zu entnehmen ist, besteht seit dem Brexit am 31.1.2020 zwischen dem Vereinigten Königreich (UK) und der EU nach wie vor keine Einigkeit über die künftigen Beziehungen nach dem Ablauf des Übergangszeitraums am 31.12.2020 (Stichwort “No-deal-Brexit”). Die gute Nachricht ist, dass zumindest betreffend die bislang gemeinschaftlich einheitlichen Markenrechte mittels der Unionsmarke bereits Klarheit besteht, […]...
Austrian e-commerce act: Update on the right to information – sec. 18 para 4 ECG
In contrast to other European legislation, the Austrian E-Commerce Act (ECG) sets forth a particular obligation of Host Providers to disclose information: Pursuant to Sec. 18 para 4 ECG, Host Providers are obliged to transmit information about their users at the request of third parties, provided that they have an overriding legal interest and can […]...
Romania: New rules on damages claims for infringements of competition law
Last week Romania adopted new rules on claims for damages in cases of infringement of competition law, implementing the related EU directive. The new provisions are aimed at enhancing private enforcement in Romania and ensuring that victims of anticompetitive practices can exercise their rights to full compensation. To learn more, please open the attached file....