On the occasion of Belgrade Open pre – moot, supported by our law firm, our colleague Sara Pendjer (in the capacity of co – chair of under 40 section of Arbitration Association) is taking part in organization of the panel: Arbitration experts on experts in Arbitration. Five renowned arbitration practitioners will discuss the selection, role and work with experts in international arbitration. Attendance is free of charge, but pre-registration is mandatory.

Do not miss this opportunity to hear these eminent international practitioners, but also to enjoy the tour of the Historical Museum of Serbia.

For more information, please see the image below.

Sara Pendjer and Luka Marosiuk participated in the virtual training organized by ICC Croatia and PwC on the cross-examination of the financial experts in international arbitration.

The ICC Croatia Commission for Arbitration and ADR and PwC organized Virtual Cross-Examination Training, last Wednesday. Participants were assigned to different roles – claimant, respondent or expert with a mock case. They had a chance to question financial expert witnesses about their report in front of the tribunal composed of well-known arbitration practitioners. This was a great opportunity for young practitioners to develop practical skills on how to cross examine experts in arbitration – formulate questions, draw conclusions and make compelling arguments before an arbitral tribunal.

Luka Marosiuk participated as a council for the respondent, whereas Sara Pendjer participated as arbitrator.

We once again wish to thank ICC Croatia and PwC for organizing this inspiring event, which was an extremely informative, enjoyable, and valuable training session. Additionally, we wish to thank all participants for their commitment to the training and their active involvement.

We are pleased to share that Stankovic & Partners has once again been ranked in the most recent Chambers Europe Guide legal rankings.

Our firm has been recognized as Band 3 in Banking and Finance and Dispute Resolution. Our Senior Partner Nenad Stankovic has been ranked in Band 3 for Corporate/Commercial: Real Estate, Dispute Resolution and Employment, while out Senior Associate Sara Pendjer is ranked in Band 3 in Dispute Resolution.

Chambers Global Guide ranks top law firms and lawyers worldwide. Its selection process is based on an in – depth research, covering various practice areas in over 200 jurisdictions across the globe.

We sincerely thank all our clients and partners for their support.

Continuing the increased focus on GDPR breaches, the year started intensively in terms of penalties relating to personal data protection.

The Italian Data Protection authority Garante published on 19^th January 2022 its decision to impose a fine in the amount of €26,513,977 on Enel Energia S.p.a, a leading Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. The fine was for violating various GDPR provisions referring to aggressive telemarketing and this enters the top 10 GDPR worldwide fines so far.

As to the current ranking relating to GDPR fines, Amazon still holds the top spot with a fine of €746 million, followed by WhatsApp with a fine of €225 million.

Also, the French data protection authority CNIL published on 6^th January 2022 decisions in which it imposed the following fines: Google LLC – €90 million, Google Ireland Limited – €60 million and Facebook Ireland Limited – €60 million for violating French Data Protection Act (la loi “Informatique et Libertés”) and EU e-Privacy directive also known as the “EU cookie law”, more precisely for failing to allow French users to easily reject cookie tracking technology.

Personal data protection is an increasingly current topic which will influence not only companies to comply with relevant legislation, but also the competent authorities to continue imposing high fines for violating provisions of this legislation.

For more information on how your company remains compliant please contact NST Law for further information.

NSTLAW provided assistance to the EBRD in preparing the Business Re-organisation Assessment for Montenegro.

This assessment focusses on the re-organisation procedure according to Montenegrin legislation. In this way the Bank and investors are informed about what they can expect when investing on a company in reorganization. According to the assessment, average duration of business reorganization in Montenegro is from six to nine months. Further, according to the data available from the website of the Commercial Court in 2020 there were 437 initiated bankruptcy proceedings, while there is no indication of the number of initiated re-organisation proceedings.

For more information please visit https://www.ebrd-restructuring.com/

NSTLAW advised the Rustler Group and its Serbian affiliate Hauzmajstor d.o.o. as well as local management on its Corporate Restructuring where manager entered the ownership structure of Hauzmajstor d.o.o.

The deal comprised of an existing Executive Director purchasing an equity interest in the company from its Austrian investors, new Corporate Governance and Shareholders Agreement.

Hauzmajstor d.o.o. is a real estate company managing assets of € 2.5 billion and one of the pioneers in the field of property facility management. Hauzmajstor d.o.o. is member of the well-known Austrian Rustler group. The Rustler Group is one of Europe’s main real estate service providers, boasting a turnover over € 50 million, an estimated € 10 billion of assets under management and more than 500 employees.

NSTLAW continues to provide legal support post deal and advises high net worth individuals and families worldwide with the accumulation, management, transfer and protection of personal wealth.

The team was led by Luka Marosiuk, Associate.

NST LAW strengthened by addition of Tijana Milisic as a Junior Associate. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for another reputable law firm in Belgrade. Tijana is the qualified lawyer for more than 3 years and she will strengthen the Corporate and Data Protection team in particular.

The  International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitrators Forum is hosting a webinar on 16^th  December 2021 at 4 p.m. CET. This session will be moderated by our own Sara Pendjer who has also received recognition as a arbitration future leader – non partner, by who is who.  The webinar will discuss opportunities in Eastern Europe relating to international arbitration. Registration is free of charge, but pre-registration is required. More details can be found on the following link.

We are proud to share that Who is who recognized our colleague Sara Pendjer as arbitration future leader, non – partner for a second time.

The whole list can be found on the following page.

Belgrade was the host city of the largest regional HR conference last week. The five-day program organized by HR World had more than 150 speakers and 4,000 participants from around the world. This virtual event included inspiring input on topics such as strategic HR, people-centric HR, digital HR, HR development and C-suite day, when top management and HR experts provided their people management experience and stories.

During this time of constant change, the event was an excellent opportunity to share experiences and discuss possible solutions as all businesses face similar obstacles. Companies need to respond to market demands, pandemic related issues, and more than ever we do business using mainly online platforms. One of the main takeaways from this conference was how important it is for any organization to adapt swiftly and efficiently to change. The constant focus on the development and wellbeing of employees is the key part of the overall success and stability of the business. Irrespective of whether the business is goods or services, overall performance depends on its people. Renowned author and expert in management studies, Professor Henry Mintzberg explained how management positions did not automatically imply leadership skills. He stated that we become leaders only when there is a group of people ready to follow us and work together towards mutual goals.

The role of the leaders is constantly increasing as explained by Dejan Cvetkovic, CTO of the Microsoft Development Center in Serbia, who spoke about the importance of the initial motivational speech by the team leader, where employees are presented with the project or company vision and mission, and they contribute with their ideas. In this way, employees find their place and greater meaning in their work.

NST Head of HR Ljiljana Madzarevic attended the event as a member […]