The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) served as a trigger for a targeted effort to assess and manage the possible effects of it. The Russian Government continues to update the measures taken or introduce new ones, trying to act ahead of the possible adverse consequences. Our lawyers are closely monitoring the situation, watching out for the new measures introduced in relation to the coronavirus.
We offer overview of key legislative changes and recommendations for business in the current pandemic.

The Constitutional Court and Supreme court continue to clarify the novels in procedural codes on professional judicial representatives. Recall that earlier, in June, the Supreme Court in the Review of Judicial Practice No. 1 dated 06/10/2020 indicated that the law degree requirements do not relate to representatives in bankruptcy cases. Recently, the Constitutional Court in its decision ruled that the interests of legal entities can be represented by employees, founders (shareholders) and other persons without a law degree.

Specification of the information about the license is not required directly in the advertising of medical activities that are subject to licensing. Verification of the presence of relevant documents is carried out at the request of the advertising distributor in accordance with article 13 of the Law on advertising. The advertiser, in turn, shall provide reports, including information about the availability of a license, mandatory certification and state registration.

In addition to recent measures supporting the economy and preventing spread of COVID-19 a new law No. 166-FZ dated 8 June, 2020 «On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation with a view to taking urgent measures aimed at ensuring sustainable economic development and preventing the consequences of the spread of a novel coronavirus infection» was adopted (hereinafter referred to as Law no. 166). Law No. 166 amended regulations provided by the Bankruptcy law with several novels.

On May 5, 2020, a law comes into force that establishes the procedure for experimenting on the use of employment in electronic form without their duplicating on paper documents by certain employers and employees. More detailed rules for experimenting will be set out in the regulations on conducting the experiment, which must be approved by the Russian Ministry of Labor.

Deputies of the Moscow city Duma introduced a bill suggesting adding provisions for remote work to the Labour Code. The ground for making such amendments are the difficulties in formalising transfer of employees to remote work which the employers faced during the pandemic.

In its recent Ruling, the Russian Constitutional court clarified the provisions of the Labor Code regarding the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract with persons who are employed to perform certain work when the date of completion of work cannot be determined by a specific date (paragraph 8, part 1 of article 59 of the Labor Code).