Client Alerts
PropTech – Disrupting the real estate sector
"PropTech" is an abbreviation for Property technology. PropTech means any application in the real estate sector, be it 3D visualizing, home matching tools, crowdfunding in the RE sector, fintechs related to real estate, shared economy, smart cities, smart homes, artificial intelligence, smart contracts or building information modeling....
Defendants beware: New legislation on class actions in Poland
A NEW LAW MAY UNLOCK CLASS ACTION LITIGATION IN POLAND On June 1, 2017 new provisions on class actions will come into force in Poland. The incoming law should result in a major increase locally of this type of litigation....
Energy efficiency in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Law on Energy Efficiency (hereinafter: the Law) was for the first time enacted in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2 February 2017. The purpose of the Law is, inter alia, to achieve sustainable energy development, mitigate adverse environmental impacts and, also, increase the security of the energy supply. The Law defines energy efficiency as the relationship between the usage of energy and achieved effect in services, goods or energy. The Law entered into force on 1 April 2017....
The first action plan for the application of the GDPR has been published by the Romanian data protection authority
WHAT IS TO BE DONE BY DATA CONTROLLERS? On September 21st, 2017, the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing ("RDPA") published on its website a Guidance regarding the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (the "Guidance"), for the benefit of the data controllers performing personal data processing activities that fall under the jurisdiction of the Romanian law....
New aid scheme for energy based on biomass, biogas, and geothermal source
THE RELEVANT NUMBERS The Romanian Government approved (effective as of 14 April of this year) a State aid scheme which is aimed at stimulating investments in an area which both government officials and market players view as insufficiently developed – the production of energy (power and/or heat) from biomass, biogas, and geothermal sources....
Draft law to watch: mandatory electronic mailboxes for professionals
The Romanian Senate adopted a draft law regarding the "electronic headquarters of economic operators" (the "Draft Law"). The Draft Law regulates the mandatory use by professionals of predefined electronic mailboxes (e-mails), as identification element and means of receiving correspondence....
Amendments to EU council regulation on the EU trade mark enter into force on 1 October 2017
On 23 March 2016, new regulations to the EU's Trademark Directive entered into force with Directive EU 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Based upon secondary legislation, a number of further provisions will be effective as of 1 October 2017 and shall facilitate the application of trade marks in Europe....
The national bank of Ukraine continues easing exchange control regulations
The end of winter brought a number of measures promoted by the National Bank of Ukraine (the "NBU") and aimed at easing and deregulating exchange control regulations. In particular, Ukrainian individuals have been de jure permitted to make foreign investments and freely use foreign bank accounts using funds other than those transferred from Ukraine. Even though the measure by the NBU is not a full scale liberalisation measure, the market still considers it to be a positive trend toward deregulation....
Revised Slovenian civil procedure – A step closer to faster dispute resolution?
The amended Slovenian Civil Procedure Act ("ZPP-E") will enter into force on 14 September 2017 and will govern all proceedings initiated after this date....
First successful investment treaty claim over subsidy cuts to renewable energy investments
Since 2013, several investment treaty claims have been filed in the field of renewable energy against European member states based upon alleged breach of the Energy Charter Treaty....
New warranty regulations for online shops ante portas
Under the current legal situation regarding cross-border business transactions, operators of online shops must provide individual platforms for each EU member state to fulfill all specific national legal requirements. Notwithstanding the technical capabilities of the internet today, it is still not possible to provide just one general online shop for the whole European area. According to the "Flash Eurobarometer 396, 2015" survey, 39% of businesses selling online but not cross-border quote different national contract laws as one of the main obstacles to cross-border sales....
Amendments to the Croatian foreigners act
On 30 June 2017, the Croatian Parliament adopted extensive amendments to the existing Foreigners Act in order to implement relevant EU legislation and clarify certain provisions subject to different interpretation in practice....