’’Good corporate governance, it’s about being proper and prosper.” Toba Beta Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are increasingly being used by investors looking to assess the sustainability and risk profile of companies. Governments worldwide are taking part in this ESG focus, with new legislation being introduced to build the foundations and provide a legal basis to ESG. We have already written about the importance of ESG when assessing the market performance of a company which is supported by a growing number of research and data analyses. In previous articles, we have covered the “E” and “S”, with the letter […]
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On June 1st 2021, the new Gender Equality Act (the “Act”) entered into force and Serbia finally has a modern act to address this issue. The Act regulates the concept, meaning and policy measures for achieving and promoting gender equality, as well as measures for combating and preventing all forms of gender-based violence, violence against women and domestic violence. We emphasize that discrimination based on sex and gender was prohibited even before the entry into force of this Act. The Act confirms the current principles of equality of employees in employment rights and the prohibition of discriminatory behaviour of employers, […]
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The US Federal Reserve published a document titled Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation (“Paper”) in January. The Paper points out the pros and cons of creating the digital dollar in the form of a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), to determine whether it could improve the US payment system. As we explained in earlier texts on this subject, CBDCs are virtual records of existing fiat currencies. They represent the complete equivalents of currencies such as the euro, dollar, dinar, etc. The Paper points out that the digital dollar would be a liability of […]
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In late 2021, the Romanian Constitutional Court issued a statement regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (”Judgment”) in Cases C-357/19 Euro Box Promotion and Others, C379/19 DNA – Oradea Territorial Service, C-547/19 “Romanian Judges Forum”, C-811/19 FQ and others and C-840/19 NC. The Judgment established that national judges are entitled to disregard the decisions of the Romanian Constitutional Court that are not aligned with the EU law without any risk of disciplinary measures. Moreover, it addressed the Romanian justice reforms and pointed out the mandatory character of the EU’s recommendations, embedded in the Cooperation and […]
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Montenegro, the jewel of the Adriatic Sea and first in line to become the next European Union (EU) member state, has extended its program of granting citizenship by investment until the end of 2022. The benefits of such a program for investors are manifold – the opportunity to become a citizen of a beautiful European country that is experiencing one of the highest investment per capita in the Old Continent but also the chance to become a citizen of the EU once the country becomes EU member state. On 22 November 2018, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Decision on […]
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Our founder and partner Bogdan Gecić spoke with the regional publication The Adriatic, an English-language publication by the Institute for Strategic Solutions (Inštitut za strateške rešitve) in Ljubljana. It features fundamental business and geopolitical issues of importance for the region of Southeast Europe. The interview was published in the February issue. Bogdan spoke about the Gecić Law’s achievements and its strengths when advising diverse entities in the SEE region. He singled out innovation as the key ingredient to the firm’s success and the decision to expand into new practice areas such as ESG, one of the most pressing issues of […]
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According to the January 2022 Development Agency of Serbia report, the agricultural sector recorded a significant inflow of foreign investments indicating that Serbia is fertile ground for investment in agriculture. The industry showed remarkable resilience during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries faced food shortages. Meanwhile, during this period (January to November 2021), cereals, cereal-based products, fruits, and vegetables were among the most crucial Serbian export products. Serbia has a long-standing agricultural tradition and optimal conditions for the development of this sector. Its land is fertile, the climate is optimal, and there is excellent potential for […]
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Gecić Law Counsel Ivana Stojanović Raišić joined the 2022 edition of the prestigious Terralex Leadership Training Program which helps top talent in the legal profession to connect and enhance their leadership skills. Throughout the twelve-month program, Ivana will take part in a series of webinars, meetups and workshops organized by TerraLex. Previously, our Partner | Head of Corporate / M&A Ognjen Colić graduated from TerraLex’s inaugural Leadership Training Program which was held from January to November 2021. Topics covered by the program include strategic thinking, client service, communications, personal branding, project management, law firm economics, and more. The program, which […]
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At the very end of 2021, amendments and supplements[1] were adopted to the Act on Registration Procedure with the Serbian Business Registers Agency[2]. The implementation of certain provisions has been delayed by 12 or 18 months, respectively. The legislator’s main motive for the amendments is the time and cost-efficiency of registrations before the Serbian Business Registers Agency (“SBRA”), as well as to continue implementing the administration of the digitalization policy, in this case with the SBRA. Digitalization is certainly the key catalyst for innovation, modernization and economic growth and development. The most significant changes are following: Company incorporation The most […]
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Our Founding Partner Bogdan Gecić and Partner | Head of Corporate/M&A Ognjen Colić spoke with the Managing Editor of the preeminent regional legal publication CEE Legal Matters which invited Gecić Law as a leading regional law firm to take part in its featured interview published in the December edition dedicated to the Western Balkans. They talked about the importance of ESG in the region, the firm’s new practice area and its unique approach to advising clients in the field. Gecić Law recently became the first independent law firm in the region to expand into the area of Environmental, Social & […]
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