On July 4, 2023, CEE Legal Matters reported that Kinstellar and SOG were teaming up in Serbia through a strategic partnership. Recently appointed Kinstellar Belgrade Managing Partner – and co-head of the firm-wide Financial Institutions sector – Milos Velimirovic shares an insider’s perspective on the move.

The Parliament of Montenegro has adopted again the Law on Amendments to the Companies Act with 43 votes in favor, at the extraordinary session of the Parliament held on January 19, 2024, and the Amendments entered into force on January 23, 2024.

The luxury design company Hermès is facing allegations of engaging in unlawful practices by “tying” the purchase of its popular Birkin bags to the purchase of other luxury clothing and accessory items, as claimed in a class-action lawsuit filed in the US. According to the lawsuit, two California shoppers stated that they were compelled to buy additional Hermès products from various categories such as apparel, scarves, and homeware before being allowed to purchase Birkin handbags from the Paris-based brand.

Kruna Savovic – until recently the Head of the Media and IP Litigation team and a Partner at Zivkovic Samardzic – left the firm in March 2024.

Moravcevic Vojnovic and partners in cooperation with Schoenherr has advised Fifth Quarter Ventures on its recent investment in Cosmic.

Former Gecic Law Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution Jovana Velickovic has launched her own law firm in Belgrade – Velickovic Law – specializing in dispute resolution, labor, and corporate law.

Gecic Law has advised JFE Shoji on a EUR 50 million greenfield investment in Serbia through the acquisition of a 10-hectare land plot in the Indjija industrial zone.

The Single Open Balkans Labor Market, comprised of Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia, has commenced on Friday, March 1. This means that all citizens of the mentioned countries will be able to obtain employment in any of the countries within this initiative through the simplest procedure possible.

Gecic Law has advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Enterprise Expansion Fund II on their investment in Vega IT.

Schoenherr has successfully represented Tehnoexport in trademark cancellation proceedings before the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Prica & Partners has appointed Senior Associate Jelena Edelman to lead its new Employees’ Stock Awards department within the firm, to handle foreign corporations’ employee award and saving schemes.

Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners, in cooperation with Schoenherr, has advised Alstom Transport on the execution of a consulting agreement for the construction of the Belgrade metro.

Last week, the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition (“Commission”) released two decisions involving the two biggest producers and wholesalers of ground coffee in Serbia – Atlantic Group (“Atlantic”) and Strauss Adriatic (“Strauss”). One decision marked the end of the Commission’s antitrust investigation imposing penalties on Atlantic and Strauss, issued on December 29, 2023 (“Antitrust Decision”), and the other one is the merger control ruling conditionally approving Atlantic’s acquisition of Strauss, issued on February 28, 2024 (“Merger Decision”).

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. As we bid farewell to 2023, this time around we turn our attention forward: What is your one main wish for 2024 and what do you see as the biggest potential risk?

All domestic or foreign creditors can lodge claims in insolvency, but international practice shows a stark disadvantage for foreign creditors despite supposed equality.  This article delves into two key aspects – how foreign creditors are informed and lodge claims – shedding light on their status within Serbia’s legal framework. Key insights stem from major international documents like the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (MLCBI), EU Regulation 2015/848 on Insolvency Proceedings (Regulation), with Serbian insolvency primarily governed by the Insolvency Act (Act).

The Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition (“Commission”) has recently determined that the companies KTG Solucije d.o.o. Subotica (“KTG”) and Eco sense doo Subotica (“Eco Sense”) entered into a restrictive agreement that significantly impacted competition in public procurement procedures related to hygiene maintenance materials and services.

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) has been present in our lives for a while now, but it became a buzzword when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT to the public. Therefore, the lawsuit against OpenAI and the datasets used by ChatGPT deserve more attention than other similar cases.

BDK Advokati has advised Atlantic Grupa on its acquisition of Strauss Adriatic – the owner of Serbian coffee brands Doncafe and C Kafa – from the Strauss Group. Sole practitioner Sarig Shalhav reportedly advised the Strauss Group.