- Home
- News & Insights
SEARCH BY
LATEST
Recent ECJ judgement sparks controversies on the Romanian statute of limitations for criminal liability
The Romanian regulatory context In recent years, the statute of limitations for criminal liability in Romania has been the subject of numerous debates among legal scholars and practitioners. This is because in 2018 the Romanian Constitutional Court rendered a binding decision declaring as unconstitutional, in part, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code on interrupting the statute of limitations for criminal liability. The Constitutional Court issued this binding decision because the Romanian legislator had failed to amend the respective provisions, and as a result has divided the jurisprudence of Romanian criminal courts into two camps of interpretation, namely: (i) one camp stating that the statute of limitations cannot
Ukraine Parliament mandates electronic presence for court proceedings
The Ukrainian parliament has passed the Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Mandatory Registration and Use of Electronic Offices in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System or Its Separate Subsystem (Module) that Ensures Document Exchange”. The law is due to take effect on 18 October 2023. The Law mandates that each participant in court proceedings in Ukraine register their electronic presence in the system by opening their respective electronic office within it. The principal purpose of this new requirement is to ensure the quick, flawless and guaranteed exchange of procedural documents among all participants in court proceedings in Ukraine. Key provisions
Class actions to protect collective interests of consumers in Slovakia
The new Act on Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts (the "Act") was adopted by the Slovak Parliament on 21 June 2023 and will enter into force on 25 July 2023, with the exception of some special and temporary provisions, which enter into force on the date of the Act’s publication in the Collection of Legislative Acts. The Act, which transposes the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828, introduces a new legal proceeding—class actions—into Slovak legislation. The most significant elements of the new Act include: The introduction of two types of actions / proceedings available under the Act: a proceeding
Kinstellar dispute resolution team in Bratislava successfully defends its client in commercial litigation
Kinstellar’s dispute resolution team in Bratislava, led by Michal Hrušovský, has successfully defended its client in commercial litigation before Slovak courts against the “alleged” owner of a receivable. The dispute contained various foreign elements. The claimant asserted that a receivable of the original owner (the client’s former supplier of automotive components) was assigned to it based on an assignment agreement governed by foreign law. Despite the fact that the District Court in Banská Bystrica had issued a payment order, on behalf of the respondent we appealed and sufficiently evidenced to the competent court in subsequent proceedings that the “alleged” assignment was not valid and that the receivable
Reform of the “judicial map” of the Slovak Republic
From 1 June 2023, the so-called reform of the “judicial map” of Slovakia enters into force, which according to its proponents should bring faster and better decision-making by the courts and ensure better working conditions for judges. The basic premise of the reform is the specialisation of judges and courts under five main agendas—family, civil, criminal, commercial, and administrative justice. The reform is intended to increase the efficiency of the administration of justice and will lead to several changes: the dissolution of several existing courts, the creation of new courts, and the transfer of agendas between individual courts. The reform of the “judicial map” consists of two laws: (i) Act no. 150/2022 Coll.
Kinstellar announces new promotions in Bucharest, Romania
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotion to Managing Associate of Mădălina Perțe (Corporate M&A), Andrei Covaliu (Dispute Resolution) and Răzvan Constantinescu (Banking and Finance), and to Senior Associate of Raluca Constantin (Dispute Resolution). These promotions come as a recognition of their contribution to our office’s recent development and their commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients. Mădălina Perțe specializes in Corporate / M&A matters where she has dealt with various assignments. She has also been involved in multiple due diligence exercises and regularly advises companies on daily housekeeping matters. Mădălina’s expertise extends to capital
Slovak court orders public health insurance provider to pay EUR 2 million for the medicinal product Zolgensma, citing discrimination
Zolgensma[i] is an orphan medicinal product designated by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (“SMA”), a long-term debilitating and life-threatening disease that causes breathing difficulties and paralysis that worsens over time. Zolgensma, which has been authorised in the EU since 18 May 2020, was developed by AveXis EU, Ltd. and later acquired by Novartis. On 13 March 2023, the Bratislava V District Court issued an injunction against public health insurance provider Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance, "VsZP"), ordering it to pay for Zolgensma, which is not reimbursed by the Slovak public health insurance system. This is the first court decision ordering
Top five decisions of Ukraine’s Supreme Court relating to land disputes in 2022
Case law cannot be overestimated. It adapts to changes faster than legislation. Case law in Ukraine evolved during peacetime and continues to do so during martial law. Diana Malysh, Associate at Kinstellar’s Kyiv office, analyses current case law and reviews the top five decisions of Ukraine’s Supreme Court adopted in 2022 relating to land disputes in an article published on the legal information platform Liga Zakon. Read the full article (in Ukrainian only):
Kinstellar announces new promotions in Kazakhstan
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotion to Managing Associate of Yerlan Akhmetov (Banking & Finance, Corporate), Dina Berkalieva (Dispute Resolution) and Assel Mussina (Corporate, Real Estate) in our Almaty office. In addition, Anna Kornilova, a Senior Associate in the Almaty office, will become Head of Competition for Central Asia. These promotions are in recognition of their importance to our firm and its future and to their commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients. Yerlan Akhmetov has over 15 years of experience in capital markets, banking and finance and M&A. He has taken the lead on numerous complicated financing transactions, and has been involved in high-profile M&A
Kinstellar expands its Dispute Resolution service in Prague
Kinstellar is pleased to announce the addition of Radim Kotrba to its Dispute Resolution service line in Prague. Radim is a litigation expert with over ten years of experience advising clients on disputes involving, among other things, damage recovery, trademarks, financing, and complicated debt recovery. He has a strong market reputation for providing hands-on, highly qualified advice and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases involving complex domestic and international dispute resolution and insolvency proceedings. Radim Kotrba comments: "I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic and well-respected law firm, and I look forward to contributing value to both the firm and the clients we represent."
Ukraine: An introduction to war-inflicted damages
What do you do if your country is invaded, your parents and kids are killed when trying to escape the occupation, your wife is gang-raped, and you are beaten to death because you speak a language the invaders hate? What do you do if the invaders have looted your house, plundered your farm, or taken your factory away from you? The 2022 Russian war against Ukraine has already become the biggest military disaster in Europe after World War 2. This war was initiated by a nuclear super-power and a permanent UN Security Council member against a nation whose security the former had guaranteed with its own sovereign signatures under numerous international treaties. The aggressor-state has clearly manifested its primary agenda
Kinstellar promotes Mert Elçin to Counsel in Istanbul
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotion of Mert Elçin to Counsel in our Istanbul office. Mert has more than 10 years of experience in corporate, M&A and banking and finance transactions as well as regulatory matters and has represented clients from a wide range of sectors, in particular banks, brokers, insurers, asset managers, investment funds and other market participants from the financial services industry, venture capital firms, founders, angel and private equity investors, and companies focusing on life sciences and healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, retail and manufacturing. He is also experienced handling international arbitration. Mert joined Kinstellar in 2019 as