On 25-26 May, Astana hosted an annual event in the area of economic and political life of the region – Astana Economic Forum.

The AEF-2016 is a Forum of the Silk Road countries aimed to unite representatives of governments and businesses of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The main subject of the AEF-2016 was the ‘New Economic Reality:  diversification, innovations and knowledge economy’.

The forum was attended by representatives of the expert community, politicians, heads of the largest financial institutions, international organisations, and Nobel Prize winners.

In total, the Forum consisted of 20 sessions.  It also included lectures by key speakers on the global economy, economy diversification, innovation and technologies, and knowledge economy.

The key events of the Astana Economic Forum included:

• Kazakhstan Investment Summit
• Forum of the Silk Road countries
• High Level Conference: Global Growth Transformation
• Kazakhstan Privatization Forum
• Construction of the Institutional Environment for Sustainable Growth
• Regional IMF Conference

GRATA International was represented at the Forum by: Tlek Baigabulov – Senior Partner, Akhmetzhan Abdullayev – Senior Partner, Samat Daumov – Managing Partner, Liya Akzhanova – Counsel, and Luiza Dyussengaliyeva – Senior Lawyer.

The latest activity update regarding the Serbian Competition Commission has been the Decision brought by the Commission’s President to initiate ex officio proceedings for suspected price fixing against 26 undertakings operating in the field of geodetic services.

The proceedings come following a complaint by the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency, delivered to the Commission in April this year. The complaint alleged suspected collusion between providers of geodetic services participating in the Agency’s public procurement procedures – the prices the land surveyors were offering for their services during this year were significantly higher than the prices from the previous two years.

Acting upon the complaint, the Commission found there were sufficient grounds to open a formal investigation in the matter.

The Kusnacht Practice, a portfolio company of the Capital 36 group of companies, has acquired 67 per cent of the share capital – the controlling stake – of Double Check, the Swiss Academic Center for Checkups and Second Opinions.

Bär & Karrer acted as legal and tax adviser to the Capital 36 group. The team included Mariel Hoch, Sora Meyer, Manuel Baumberger (all M&A), Markus Schott, Michelle Merz (both Health Care Law/Regulatory), Susanne Schreiber, Michael Abegg (both Tax), Thomas Stoltz (Notarial Services) as well as Till Spillmann and Adrian Koller (both Financing).

GunnerCooke’s Chris Jones reviews the top three fundamentals in an insolvency case: investigation, action, enforcement in a webinar on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 11:30AM–12:30PM BST

To join the session click here.

On 27 May The Law Society of England and Wales, the Kazakhstan Bar Association, and the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan held a one-day English Law Day Forum in Almaty.

As trade between the UK and Kazakhstan continues to grow so does the importance of understanding various recurring issues that arise in cross-border transactions and the most effective ways of addressing them.

A team of leading English and Kazakh practitioners discussed these topics:

• Capital markets and M&A transactions
• Project finance and public private partnership
• Dispute resolution – international arbitration
• Astana International Financial Centre – legal implications

GRATA International was represented at the Forum by Shaimerden Chikanayev, Partner.

David Westcott QC and Rachel Vickers recently received judgment in favour of their Claimant client after a five day Clinical Negligence Liability trial.

The Claimant was born by emergency Caesarean section and suffered Hypoxic Ischaemic at birth leading to Cerebral Palsy. Timings in the build up to the birth and cross referencing the Claimant’s medical records were crucial in determining the outcome.

At a time when businesses are increasingly cost-conscious, leading global defence lawyers and in-house counsel will come together at DRI International’s seminar in Vienna to discuss Cost Strategies in International Dispute Resolution.

-Shepherd and Wedderburn are sponsoring  the conference, and lawyers from the firm’s Commercial Dispute Resolution and International Arbitration practices: Judy Krieg, Jane Wessel, Guy Harvey and Barbara Bolton are to attend the event.  They will be on hand to discuss and share their in-depth experience of some of the conference’s key themes. These include third-party funding for disputes, cutting costs through arbitration, efficient use of data, and e-discovery techniques.

The event takes place on 2-3 June at the Hilton Vienna Plaza hotel.

Kinstellar is organising a panel discussion with experts on the newly adopted law on corporate criminal liability, and on what companies and executive boards should do to mitigate and prevent corporate criminal liability. It will offer the opportunity to discuss such questions as: Will the new law have a similar fate? Can we already foresee problems that will arise when the law is applied in practice? Are legal entities going to be responsible for the behaviour of every employee? How will companies be able to avoid criminal liability? What hints and tips can be provided to reduce the risk of being eliminated from public tenders?

The panel will also provide the opportunity to see these issues from different angles – from the point of view of a public prosecutor, from the point of view of an attorney, or from that of other colleagues in the corporate sphere. The experience of neighbouring countries with similar legislation will also be shared.

The event will take place on Thursday, 23 June 2016, in Bratislava.

The bones of a woman who lived 2,000 years ago, and found in a bay off the Isle of Wight, are to be gifted to Island’s museum.

Brothers Hubert and Graham Smyth discovered the skeletal remains as they set a string of swinging boat moorings at Fishbourne Beach at low tide.

Graham Smyth, who is a radiographer, gently lifted out one of the bones and was confident it was a human radius, so he left the rest of the skeleton in situ and called the police.

Caroline Sumeray, a barrister with No5 Chambers and HM Senior Coroner for the Isle of Wight, takes up the story.

“A decision was made to recover as many of the bones as possible from the surface of the mud before the tide came in.

“My first job was to establish if this was a recently deceased person or something a little older – possibly from a long washed away graveyard attached to the nearby Quarr Abbey. If the body was recently deceased, I needed to rule out an unnatural death.”

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue carried out a post mortem, and reported that the bones were ancient, the remains of an adult human female who died almost certainly beyond living memory. The cause of death could not be established but there was no evidence of injury or dismemberment.

Earlier this month, Kinstellar and risk solutions provider Kroll organised an interactive discussion in London focusing on how to effectively manage the risks associated with bribery and corruption in the CEE/CIS region.

The event was timed to coincide with the international anti-corruption summit held in London and hosted by prime minister David Cameron. The seminar, entitled It’s Not as Easy as ABC, emphasised that it is not just the FCPA, UK Bribery Act or other foreign legislation, but also local anti-corruption legislation across the CEE/CIS region that has an impact on companies operating in CEE/CIS.

Case studies from the Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine showed how different the level of enforcement is within CEE/CIS and set out the reasons for these differences.

Not only is the behaviour of companies changing because of the new business environment (with corporate criminal liability being incorporated in most countries, better enforcement, and the awareness that reputation does matter), but the risks companies are exposed to are also different now. The nature of high-risk parties and high-risk payments is, for example, changing as the wrongdoers also adapt to the new environment. Conflict of interest between companies and personal interests has been identified as a regional issue.

Khaitan & Co advised RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (RAG-Stiftung) on the Indian leg of the transaction involving acquisition by RAG-Stiftung of 70 % stake in the Dorsch Group through its investment company, RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH. Khaitan & Co acted as the Indian legal advisors and advised on the Indian leg of the transaction.

RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH is an investment company, founded in April 2014, which invests in companies which are sustainably successful. Dorsch is RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH’s second investment in the engineering consultancy segment, following the British consulting engineers, Pell Frischmann. This segment is one of the strategic investment fields of RAG-Stiftung Investment Company.

Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, Partner; Stuti Galiya, Principal Associate and Subramanian Ramaswamy, Consultant led the transaction.

Khaitan & Co advised Yes Bank Limited and Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited in relation to securitisation of portfolio of priority sector loans (loans qualifying for “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises” and “Agriculture” sector) originated by Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited and investment by Yes Bank Limited in the pass through certificates issued by the securitisation trust.

Kumar Saurabh Singh, Partner and Nikita Nehriya, Associate represented the client on the transaction.

Khaitan & Co advised Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Alembic”) in relation to a 60:40 joint venture with Orbicular Pharmaceutical Technologies Private Limited to engage in research and development, manufacturing, commercialising and marketing of topical products on a worldwide basis.

Bhavik Narsana, Partner; Tarunya Krishnan, Principal Associate and Avantika Govil, Associate advised on the Corporate aspects with assistance from Adheesh Nargolkar, Partner and Shailendra Bhandare, Counsel on the Intellectual property aspects:

Hogan Lovells has entered into an association with Indonesia firm Dewi Negara Fachi & Partners (DNFP) eight months after ending its previous alliance in the region.

DNFP specialises in corporate and financial transactions and was launched by partners Dewi Djarot and Fachi Fachrul. The firm recently added a third partner after Chalid Heyder joined from domestic firm Hiswara Bunjain & Tandjung where he was head of dispute resolution.

Djarot advises a number of international and domestic clients in relation to general commercial law, investment, manufacturing, banking and finance, and resource and energy matters.

Fachrul has worked as a senior lawyer at Australian firm Blake Dawson (now merged with Ashurst) as well as in-house at a national airline company. His experience spans issues relating to corporate, labour, cross-border investments, Islamic finance, M&A banking, finance and litigation.

Hogan Lovells Asia Pacific managing partner Patrick Sherrington said the association was a “significant milestone” that would allow the firm to “shape its strategy and expand its client offering in an entirely new way”.

The launch of the association was marked by the hire of Noor Meurling who joins Hogan Lovells as a corporate partner. Meurling is credited for building the relationship between Hogan Lovells and DNFP. She joins from Ashurst where she was a corporate partner within the firm’s associated Indonesian-based firm Oentoeng Suria and Partners.

In September Hogan Lovells ended its association with Jakarta-based Hermawan Juniarto. The relationship with the seven-partner firm begin in April 2012 and was an effort by Hogan Lovells to develop its practice in Indonesia.

When the relationship eventually ended Sherrington stated it was because the firm “felt it wasn’t the right long-term combination”.

Indonesia has seen a flurry of international firms enter the market over the last three years. In February White & Case launched in the region after taking two partners from Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) Indonesian ally. Capital markets partner Kristo Molina and banking partner Fajar Ramadhan both joined Witara Cakra Advocates at the same time as the domestic firm joined forces with White & Case.

HSF was also raided by Holman Fenwick Willan, which picked up partner Haydn Dare to open in Indonesia. Dare focuses on corporate, M&A, infrastructure and mining as well as banking and finance. He advises a number of clients including Tata Power and Commonwealth Bank.

Ogier partner Mathew Newman will be speaking at the INSOL International Channel Islands one day seminar in June.

Mathew will take part in a panel discussion discussing the cooperation of foreign courts in the case of an international fraud. Mathew will present the Guernsey perspective, alongside fellow panellists will be Mr Justice Snowden, David Standish and Ed Drummond.

Held at the Radission Blu on 9 June this, the third Channel Islands regional seminar, is being held in conjunction with the Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts (Channel Islands). The programme includes a keynote speech from Colonel Tim Collins, who will speak on team leadership and cooperation on challenging international assignments.

The technical programme covers current cross-border insolvency and restructuring topics, with a particular focus on issues relevant to the Channel Islands, the UK and offshore jurisdictions, including the Caribbean and Bermuda. The interconnections between global business and the regional offshore centres are ever more apparent, and entities incorporated in Jersey and Guernsey frequently feature in major cross-border insolvencies, asset tracking and restructurings.

On 18 May 2016, the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce hosted a working breakfast on the topic of “Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms – Mediation and Arbitration”. The event was organised by the Turn Around Management Association Serbia (TMA Serbia), in cooperation with ADR Partners and the Belgrade Arbitration Centre.

The speaking panel consisted of leading judges, professors and arbitrators, with an attendance of around 30 participants, which mostly consisted of practicing lawyers, as well as in-house experts within banks, insurance companies and other corporates.

The participants, among other things, discussed the difficulties that the current court system is facing and the need to promote and utilise alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration.

The event was attended by Maja Jovančević Šetka, partner in the banking & finance practice of Karanović & Nikolić, as well as a board member of TMA Serbia.

Barnea & Co is attending the TAU Innovation Conference 2016. The conference is the largest international innovation conference in the Middle East, with over 6,000 attendees from across the world. This includes entrepreneurs, industry leaders, diplomats, investors, and highly respected keynote speakers at educational and networking events. As Barnea & Co. is a participant in the event, its clients enjoy a 35% discount (Password:  TAUBarnea2016)

As part of the event, Micky Barnea will participate in the IPO and exits panel, Yuval Lazi will participate in the fundraising panel and Yuval Lazi and Ariella Dreyfuss will be judges at the Tel Aviv StartUp Challenge competition.

With stunning views from More London, a packed and lively room eagerly welcomed ITV’s Mary Nightingale, our host and compère for the evening who introduced an equally stunning panel of successful women: Moya Greene, CEO of Royal Mail in the year that it celebrates its 500th anniversary, Ffion Hague, who, after a thriving career in the civil service, leads her own consultancy business undertaking Board appraisals, the co-founder of Ambition First and insurance broker Emma Bell and our very own General Counsel Margaret Cole together made for an energetic panel discussion around the issues and achievements of women in business past, present and future.

There are an array of issues that face women who wish to maintain a healthy career with real distance; the panel touched on childcare costs, lack of female role models for young women at the beginning of their careers, self-confidence and that small thing called ambition.

Richard Power, a partner in Clyde & Co’s global arbitration group, examines the problems for dispute resolution posed by geopolitical instability.

Recent years have seen unprecedented political upheaval. Russia annexed Crimea and Ukraine is divided; regions of Sub-Saharan Africa are ungovernable or under rebel control; civil war rages in Libya, Syria and Iraq – now Libya has two governments and a “caliphate” straddles Iraq and Syria.

Many of these regions are rich in natural resources or host important infrastructure, and consequently attract foreign investors. In addition to physical protection, investors seek legal protection of their assets through contracts incorporating arbitration clauses, offering an independent and neutral dispute resolution mechanism. However, current geopolitical conditions give rise to unique problems which can undermine that legal protection.

Revolution and regime change

Investors face the prospect of contracts being terminated, or assets seized, if there is a change to those holding power in a host country. A state’s legal obligations will usually survive a change of government (even if occasioned by a coup), but today’s political scenarios are more complex:

• If one contracts with a self-proclaimed independent or self-governing region, can one bring a claim against that entity? Does a claim lie against the state from which the region has “seceded”, and does it matter whether the “main” state refuses to recognise that state? Does it depend upon how many other countries recognise the breakaway region?
• If one owns/invests in an asset in a foreign country and the state fails to protect that asset from damage/destruction by insurgents, does a claim lie against the state? What if they protected the assets of another nation’s investors? Would a claim lie if the insurgents subsequently take control of the state? What if the insurgents are funded and armed by, and act according to the orders of, another state – does a claim lie against that state?  While one may assume that bilateral investment treaty protection ameliorates these risks, Russia’s annexation of Crimea has raised significant questions as to attribution under Russian and Ukrainian BITs.

Practical problems

Lawlessness and unrest can have practical implications for the conduct of an arbitration:

• The seat of the arbitration determines the law and courts which support the arbitration, e.g. by compelling the attendance of witnesses or appointing an arbitrator where the Respondent refuses to participate. What if the Respondent is recalcitrant but the arbitral seat is a state which is in anarchy? Could an application be made to another state’s courts to assist with the arbitration? If so, which state’s courts?
• The seat also determines the nationality of the award, and its laws can prescribe rules for the validity of an award e.g. it must be signed in the jurisdiction. What if the seat is in a country to which the tribunal will not travel because of safety fears?
• Many institutional rules provide for a scenario where a party withholds documents, or a witness refuses to be cross-examined, but how should a tribunal deal with a key witness or crucial documents being available/willing to assist, but cannot be produced because they are in rebel-held territory e.g. ISIS-held Syria or Iraq? Should less weight be given to such evidence, or would that amount to procedural unfairness?

Sanctions

Countries involved in civil unrest, and certain companies and citizens of those countries, can often be subject to sanctions which prevent trading with and payments to/from the subjects of the sanctions. That can cause problems for an arbitration:

• If a party to an arbitration is subject to sanctions, can an arbitrator who is a citizen of a state which has imposed sanctions be paid his fee by that party? Can the arbitral institution receive its fee?
• If an award is made against the sanctioned party, can the award creditor enforce that award in a state which has imposed sanctions freezing that party’s assets?
• Can the subject of sanctions seek relief from its failure to perform a contract because doing so would breach the sanctions on it? Does it matter if the other party is willing to perform and not caught by sanctions?
• Can one party seek force majeure relief because trading with the other party would breach sanctions? Are sanctions a permanent bar to performance (frustrating the contract) or a temporary measure suspending performance?
• Can a tribunal proceed when a party refuses to participate because of impecuniosity caused by sanctions? Could an award be challenged for unfairness?

It is important to bear these points in mind when dealing with matters concerning countries which are the subject of unrest, or could become unstable. It would also be wise to review any existing contracts with these issues in mind, and to consider them at the outset of an arbitration when procedures are decided upon.

MPs have ordered Olswang to reveal details of the fees it was paid during the sale of collapsed retailer BHS, it has emerged.

The House of Commons Works & Pensions committee has asked Olswang about the amount it was paid by Retail Acquisitions, which purchased BHS, and what due diligence it did on the money received.

In a letter to Olswang partner Stephen Hermer, committee chair Frank Field MP asked for information on the total amount of fees paid to the firm.

Field asked Hermer to provide details including the amount of fees contingent on the success of the sale, and for information on the due diligence process it carries out to establish the source of fees. Field said the committee also wanted to know “how many steps back does Olswang look to trace the ultimate source of such monies”.

In the letter, dated Tuesday (31 May), Field also said that Paul Budge, finance director at BHS’s former owners Arcadia, had given evidence to the committee stating that Retail Acquisitions had put £35m into an escrow account with Olswang. He asked Hermer what steps the firm had carried out to find out how this sum had been raised.

The firm has until 6 June to provide the information. Financial adviser Grant Thornton has also been asked to reveal details of the fees it was paid for its role on the sale.

Arcadia, represented by Linklaters, sold BHS to Retail Acquisitions in 2015 for £1 with Olswang advising the buyers.

The retailer went into administration in April, prompting questions to be raised about the sale. Last week Linklaters, Olswang and pensions advisers Eversheds and Nabarro all appeared before the inquiry led by the Work & Pensions and Business, Innovation & Skills committees.