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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
Russian property to be nationalised: Risks to consider when doing business with Russia-related counterparties in Ukraine
Recently, the Parliament of Ukraine has adopted a law on the nationalisation of property belonging to the Russian Federation and its entities in Ukraine. We have prepared a brief legal alert covering the main points of the law to help you consider your working processes with affected entities, as well as to assist your clients that may have operations with such entities. Please feel free to share the legal alert with anyone whom you believe might be interested. Download in English For more information please contact: Olga VorozhbytPartner, Head of Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations (CRSI) and White-Collar
Preliminary injunctions in Slovak civil and commercial disputes
Slovak courts are often requested to issue preliminary injunctions in civil or commercial disputes. A preliminary injunction serves primarily as a tool to prevent certain actions or harmful effects, e.g., not to dispose of real estate property in order to prevent undesired disposal, or not to terminate a certain contract. A Slovak court may order a preliminary injunction either (i) if it is necessary, without delay, to determine (legal) relations, or (ii) if there is a threat that the potential enforcement may be endangered. It is also possible to ask a Slovak court to issue a preliminary injunction prior to the initiation of arbitration proceedings, or following the initiation of the arbitration proceedings but prior
Kinstellar expands its Dispute Resolution and TMT practices in Prague
Kinstellar is pleased to announce that Petr Souček has joined the firm’s Prague office as Head of the local Dispute Resolution practice. Over the past years Kinstellar has seen its Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) and Dispute Resolution practices flourish and grow. The workload of managing and developing both practice areas, together with regional responsibilities, has outgrown the capacity of a single person. As a result, Zdeněk Kučera, who previously led both the local Dispute Resolution and TMT practices, will now focus solely on managing and further developing Kinstellar’s TMT sector coverage as Head of the local TMT practice and Co-head of the firm-wide TMT practice. The move enables Zdeněk
Kinstellar successfully represents Kiwi.com before the Czech Constitutional Court
Kinstellar has successfully represented Kiw i.com before the Czech Constitutional Court, which struck down a preliminary injunction issued by a lower court based on a claim by low-cost carrier Ryanair. According to the Constitutional Court, the preliminary injunction issued by the Regional Court in Brno in January and subsequently upheld by the High Court in Olomouc interfered with the freedom of expression, right to conduct business and right to judicial protection. As the Constitutional Court noted, the right to freedom of expression applies to a certain extent also to commercial communications. Consequently, when issuing a preliminary injunction, it is necessary to thoroughly assess whether information