#01-02 January-February 2015

In focus – Information Technologies

Despite the permanent brain drain seeping out of our country, the vibrant Ukrainian IT sector is often called a driver of future economic growth. Even in the recent turmoil it is one of the very few sectors that have managed to stay afloat and actually, showed a positive performance in 2014. Clearly, the unfavorable regulatory burden, coupled with poor IP protection, keep investors away from a potentially lucrative market…

With the support of Tax Regulation

On 28 December 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament passed On Changes to the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding Improvement of Tax Control of Transfer Pricing Act No.72-VIII, which came into effect on 1 January 2015. Reporting for the year 2014 will be prepared pursuant to Article 39 of the Tax Code that was in force prior to that date. Speaking about the changes in general, starting from now business transactions of a larger range of persons will be subject to transfer pricing legislation. “Before, taxpayers, whose annual volume of transactions with a single counterparty was under UAH 50 million, were happy that they did not need to apply transfer pricing, Yaroslav Romanchuk, the managing partner of the ILC EUCON said…

 

Expert Opinion

Prospects of Domain Name Dispute Resolution under the UDRP in Ukraine

Olena A. Vardamatska

The e-commerce era creates not only online opportunities, but also online abuse, giving rise to money losses of the abused and illegitimate profit gained by the abusers. Domain names serve as a meeting point for consumers and business in the Internet, thus being a kind of electronic place of business. This quasi intangible e-asset of the company is the evident target for violation, e.g. cybersquatting. Usually, the known personal names and trademarks are the objects of abuse of a domain name. Besides, cybersquatters harm legitimate interests in commercial and trade names, geographical indications, international non-proprietary names of pharmaceutical substances as well as interests in the names of international organizations...

 

In Re

Dispute Resolution Procedure for .ÓÊÐ Domain

Andrii V. Zharikov

The top level domain .ÓÊÐ was delegated to Ukraine by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on 28 February 2013. The Ukrainian Network Information Center (UANIC) became administrator and manager of .ÓÊÐ domain. Registration in the .ÓÊÐ domain opened on 22 August 2013. Thus, this domain became the fourth Cyrillic domain of top level after the Russian .ÐÔ, the Serbian .ÑÐÁ and the Kazakh .KÀÇ. In the time since its incorporation, more than 8,000 web-sites have been registered with the .ÓÊÐ domain…

 

Prospects for Digitizing Library Books

Oleksandra G. Odynets

On the way towards integration with the European Union aimed at accession to the Single European Informational Space, our state has accepted obligations for the harmonization of national legislations and its formalization with European standards. The main directions for improvement of national legislation as for the exceptions and restrictions in the field of copyright and related rights are aimed at further harmonization of national legislation with EU standards, namely: EU — Ukraine Association Agreement, the Directive of European Union on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in Information Society 2001/29/EU, etc…

Deals

Deals

-Baker & McKenzie advised EBRD on term loan facility for Nibulon-

-Avellum Partners and Baker & McKenzie advised on exchange offer of Metinvest-

-Asters — Ukrainian law counsel to the EBRD in connection with a loan to Farmak-

-Gide — Ukrainian advisor for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd-

-AstapovLawyers advised Rolls-Royce-

-Baker & McKenzie advised Agroton Public Limited-

Cases

Cases

-Shares held by NSC Nadra Ukrainy in Sakhalin gas field have been won back

-355 criminal proceedings against employees of SFS in 2014-

-The HACU overturned decision to liquidate the Forum Bank-

Kiev court ruled to arrest Viktor Yanukovych

Draft

DRAFT

-Mediation in tax and customs disputes-

-Fair trial-

-Public procurement-

Law Digest

LAW DIGEST:

-Troubled banks-

-Increasing the banking system’s level of capitalization-

-Corporate rights of the state-

Chamber News

CHAMBER NEWS:

-Small & Medium Businesses Development Strategies Conference-

-Business community joined reforms in oil and gas sector-

 

UBA News

Ukrainian Bar Association

-UBA Competition Committee Meeting-

-UBA Banking & Finance and Insurance Committee Round Table-

Biznews

BIZNEWS:

Crimea

-Crimea and Sevastopol: Further EU sanctions approved -

European Integration

-Belgium introduces fee for residence permits -

Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

-Unnecessary services-

-Similar labels “Spring” and “Natural Spring”-

-Procurement by Kievoblenergo canceled-

Banking & Finance

-National Bank received the right to impose a moratorium on repayment of deposits-

-EIB supports early recovery on Donbas and SME sector-

Regulatory Policy

-Government established State Regulatory Service-

Cover Story

Parallel Jurisprudence

Artem Afian and Dmytro Gadomsky

Since talk about Ukrainian reforms began, IT is often called a strategically important sector for fostering economic recovery. However, there is a huge gap between the needs of this rapidly developed sector and outdated burdensome regulations. And challenges for legal advisors in a period of caution on the part of investors and anticipated legislative changes require a clear vision of their place at this unique “eco-system”. So we asked Artem Afian and Dmytro Gadomsky, partners of Juscutum Attorneys Association, to share their thoughts on sectoral issues and lawyers…

 

Argument

Eurobonds from Ukraine: a Decade in Review

Andriy S. Nikiforov

Debt issuance by Ukrainian companies in the global capital markets dried up in the third quarter of 2013 primarily due to the deterioration of the country’s external liquidity position. Currently, the Ukrainian economy remains fragile and the sovereign ratings assigned by all three major credit agencies hover on the edge grade C. While access to capital markets by Ukrainian issuers, other than the State of Ukraine in some instances, is yet to be regained, now seems like a good time to take a look back at what has happened since the first Eurobond issuance by the government of Ukraine in 1999…

 

Global Legal Update

Increasing Effectiveness of Business Dispute Resolution in Estonian Judicial Proceedings

Leonid A. Tolstov

Pursuant to Article 6 (1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, in the determination of one’s civil rights and obligations, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time. In addition to speed and effectiveness of judicial proceedings being part of the fundamental rights of a person in a democratic society, one must not forget that attractiveness of business environment of individual countries is also assessed on the basis of the effectiveness of their judicial proceedings. Judicial system that offers effective protection in business disputes is crucial for countries’ economic health. Using Estonia as an example, the article covers some relevant issues that have emerged during the process of making judicial proceedings more effective…   

Venue

Promotion and Development: New Challenges and Opportunities

In conditions of tough crisis, understanding key developments in the promotion of legal services becomes crucial for law firm partners and their marketing and BD executives. The II International Forum for the Promotion of Legal Services held by Yuridicheskaya Practika Publishing on 4 December 2014 in Kiev brought together legal community representatives from Ukraine and abroad. The audience exchanged the latest views on market trends, establishing effective internal and external communication channels, investment in marketing, attracting lawyers to marketing work, discussing the results of the previous year and giving forecasts for 2015…

 

Crux

Tax Reform: Deregulation or Turmoil

At the very end of 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a certain number of legislative acts that once again significantly change the tax system in Ukraine. These acts include: Act of Ukraine of 25 December 2014, No.63-VIII On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding Distinctions of Adjusting Tax Liabilities of Corporate Income Tax and Value Added Tax in Case of Tax Settlement; Act of Ukraine of 28 December 2014, No.71-VIII On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Tax Reform; Act of Ukraine of 28 December 2014, No.72-VIII On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding Improving of Tax Control Over the Transfer Pricing; Act of Ukraine of 28 December 2014, No.77-VIII On Amendments to the Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Reformation of Compulsory State Social Insurance and Legalization of Payroll…

 

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