Russia Ratified the Agreement on the Elimination of Double Taxation with Oman
On 12 December 2023, the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law № 571-FZ to ratify the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman on the Elimination of Double Taxation in respect of Taxes on Income and Prevention of Avoidance and Evasion of Taxation and the Protocol thereto (hereinafter - the “Agreement”).
Subject to ratification of the Agreement by Oman and mutual notification of the parties of the ratification procedures by the end of 2023, the Agreement will enter into force as early as 1 January 2024.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Prohibited Employers from Concluding Fixed-Term Employment Contracts with Heads of Structural Subdivisions of Organisations
On 19 December 2023 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued Resolution № 59-P/2023 “On the Case Concerning the Verification of the Constitutionality of Paragraph Eight of Part Two of Article 59 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Complaint of Citizen E. A. Selkova” (hereinafter - the “Resolution”).
Comments to the Review of Court Practice Regarding Issues of Participation of an Arbitration Administrator in a Bankruptcy Case (in Russian)
Restrictions On Certain Types of Deals With “Unfriendly” Persons Have Been Extended
On 18 December 2023 the President of the Russian Federation issued decree No. 958 “On Amendments to Certain Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation”, according to which restrictions on certain types of deals with persons from “unfriendly” countries were extended.
Transactions Involving Intellectual Property May Require Prior Permission of the Government Commission
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has drafted amendments to Presidential decree No. 81 of March 1, 2022 (the "Decree"), which would extend the special procedure for transactions established by the Decree to transactions involving intellectual property. The draft is currently at the stage of anti-corruption expertise.
In accordance with the current version of the Decree, certain types of transactions with persons from "unfriendly" countries may be carried out only on the basis of permits issued by the Government Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation (the "Government Commission").
Personal Data Leak – A Problem To Be Solved
According to the Group-IB research, last year the amount of publicly released databases of Russian companies six times outnumbered those unlawfully made public in 2021. At the same time, special provisions, regulating liability for personal data leaks, are not foreseen neither in the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia nor in the Criminal Code.
Therefore, on 4 December 2023, the draft laws No. 502104-8 “On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation” (“draft law No. 502104-8") and No. 502113-8 “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” (“draft law No. 502113-8”), providing toughening liability for personal data leakage, were submitted to the State Duma.
According to the explanatory notes to these draft laws, currently existing liability is disproportional and incomparable to the potential social harm which can personal data leakage result in.
Lidings Achieved Recognition and Enforcement of FOSFA Arbitration Court Decision in Russia
Lidings Dispute Resolution practice team achieved recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award of the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations (FOSFA) in favor of a major German food producer in a dispute against a Russian agricultural manufacturer.
Pravo - 300 Rating: Lidings Strengthens its Position as Leading Legal Advisor in Russia in Key Practice Areas
On 7 December 2023 the results of the annual Pravo-300 law firms’ ranking were announced at an awarding ceremony at The Carlton Hotel in Moscow. This year Lidings expertise is highly praised in 15 key practice areas.
Judicial Practice on Challenging Restriction Measures: Main Trends
Recently the judicial practice on challenging sanctions imposed on Russian persons has begun to shape. We have already written about the first successful case with the participation of Russian person Dmitry Ovsyannikov, the former governor of Sevastopol, who managed to have himself excluded from the sanctions list.
Since that case was decided in February 2023, the sanctions removal practice has enriched by several other notable cases.