CEE Legal Matters In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets 
Radovanovic Stojanovic & Partners and Cerha Hempel have advised AIK Banka, Gorenjska Banka, and Agri Europe Cyprus on their acquisition of Sberbank Europe’s shares in six CEE banks. Noerr advised the buyers on Hungarian law, while Maric & Co, Zuric and Partners, Tos & Partners, and Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners reportedly advised the buyers on Bosnian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Russian matters, respectively.
JPM Jankovic, Popovic, Mitic, working with Rojs, Peljhan, Prelesnik & Partners and Prebanic & Jusufbasic-Goloman, has advised DuluxGroup on its EUR 194.5 million acquisition of Jub. Jadek & Pensa advised the shareholders of Jub on the deal. Kinstellar and Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners have, reportedly, also advised the buyer.
Contributed by Miljkovic & Partners.
On June 23, 2021, the lower chamber of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, the House of Representatives, passed a decision instructing the Government to “analyze the existing legal framework in relation to the construction of small hydroelectric power plants and to initiate the parliamentary procedure of amending the existing laws in order to protect the rivers and the environment.” Such a broad and generic decision comes after months of campaigning by several NGOs, supported by local and Hollywood celebrities, aimed against the construction of SHPPs on Bosnian rivers, citing environmental concerns.
Bosnia & Herzegovina is experiencing a boom in the tourism sector, feeding the steady recovery of the Balkan country, and which spells out good things to come, according to Maric & Co Partner Ezmana Turkovic.
The Parliament of Federation of BiH adopted the amendments of the Company Law of Federation of BiH and the amendments have been published and entered into force on 23 September 2021. The amendments of the Law are aimed at achieving the goal set in the Reform Agenda of Federation of BiH related to simplification of the procedure for registration of business entities and setting up a one-stop-shop company registration system.
Ibrahimovic & Co has advised Studen & Co Holding on an agreement with the Brcko District's Government to build a free business zone in the district.
BiH's Baros, Bicakcic & Partners announced an exclusive cooperation with the UAE-based firm BinSuwadian Advocates & Legal Consultants.
A significant number of updates, changes, and amendments to the legal framework of Bosnia & Herzegovina spells out a very strong positive direction that the country is moving in, according to Saracevic & Gazibegovic Lawyers Partner Emina Saracevic.
The Law on Medication and Medical Devices (Official Gazette no. 58/08) and the Rulebook on Manner of Marketing of Medicines and Medical Devices (Official Gazette no. 40/10) regulate the advertising of medicines and medical devices in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.
The matter on labour assignment has recently become topical in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), due to the increased need of business entities to hire staff who are not on their payrolls.
Bosnia & Herzegovina is finally seeing the breaking of a two-year-old deadlock that paralyzed its securities commission and halted business, says BH Legal Partner Jasmina Suljovic, underlining the most important recent development in the country.
Wolf Theiss and Spain's Uria Menendez have advised Spain's Glovo on its EUR 170 million acquisition of Delivery Hero's food delivery service businesses in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia. Cuatrecasas advised Delivery Hero.
BDK Advokati, working with lead counsel Allen & Overy, has advised the joint lead managers, including Societe Generale, on Republika Srpska’s global EUR 300 million Eurobond offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Up until the adoption of the Laws on Property Rights in Republika Srpska (in 2008) and in the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (in 2013), the only legal basis to obtain a construction permit and erect a lawful building was to first acquire ownership over the land on which the building is to be constructed, usually through a purchase agreement, as, according to the provisions of the applicable Laws of Physical Planning, as well as the general legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an investor must obtain construction rights over real property to obtain a construction permit for that property.
A new law firm alliance has appeared in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“ITA”) conducts, among other, the registration of the taxpayers for Value Added Tax (“VAT”) purposes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pursuant to the applicable Value Added Tax Act of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are two types of registration: (i) obligatory – in case the turnover in previous year exceeds or is likely to exceed the amount of BAM 50,000 and (ii) voluntary.
Maric & Co Law Firm stands on the shoulders of more than 70 years of experience and practice in the legal market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having in mind that it is difficult to find a small country with such a complicated political and legal system, we are fully aware that quality advice requires deep understanding of different areas of law. In a country where legislation is created on state, entity and cantonal levels, without proper harmonization, and where the same regulation can be applied differently by two different courts, only domestic lawyers who are well-versed in local regulations and court practices, and who are highly specialized in their practice area, may actually help their client.
With this understanding, today, the firm Maric and Co is the largest law office in the country dealing exclusively with business law. This means that we provide wide expertise in resolving all issues that domestic and international investors encounter when setting up and operating businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The scope of the office allows each of our attorneys to highly specialize in their fields, whilst the size of our team ensures delivery of premium advice and seamless service. Our firm seeks long-term partnerships with clients with the aim of providing the best and most complete solution to the client's legal needs. We are proud to say that our clients do not leave us.
We apply the same principles to our international affairs, aware of the fact that no foreign lawyer can have the same understanding of legal regulations of a country as a domestic lawyer. Therefore, our philosophy is not to open branches in countries where our clients do business, but to closely connect with top tier lawyers in those countries. Our law firm is one of the founding members of SEE Legal – a group of ten leading national law firms from 12 South East European countries. This network enables us to provide the best advice and representation in these countries. Additionally, as a result of our strong relationship with the majority of global law firms, we are able to provide law services anywhere in the world.
