The Legal 500

Legal Developments in Austria

• Poland: Civil Procedure

  On 16 September 2011, the Polish Parliament adopted a significant amendment to the Polish Civil Procedure Code (the “Code”). Most of the changes comprising the amendment came into force on 3 May 2012 (the “Amendment”).
  - Schönherr

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2012 - Serbia

  M&A transactions and all forms of corporate reorganisations (e.g. mergers, de-mergers, transformations, contributions in-kind) are governed by the Companies Act (CA).
  - Schönherr

• fwp’s expertise in banking & finance and restructuring & insolvency confirmed by top ranking

  Once again, business law firm Fellner Wratzfeld & Partners (fwp) is among the front-runners in Austria where international rankings are concerned, a fact confirmed by the Chambers Global Guide 2012, which was published in March 2012.
  - Fellner Wratzfeld & Partners

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2012 Austria

  Public bids are regulated under the 1999 Takeover Act (TA), as thoroughly amended by the 2006 TA Amendment Act. The TA applies provided the target is a joint stock corporation (AG) based in Austria and its shares are admitted to trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange (Wiener Boerse; VSE) at a regulated market.
  - Schönherr

• Austria: Employers have to pay EUR 110 for each termination

  In the course of the second stabilisation package 2012*, the new § 2 b Labour Market Policy Financing Act (Arbeitsmarktpolitik-Finanzierungsgesetz – AMPFG) was agreed upon.
  - Schönherr

• Czech Republic: Major amendment to the Public Procurement Act

  As of 1 April 2012, the Czech Public Procurement Act (Act No. 137/2006 Coll.) has been significantly amended.
  - Schönherr

• The Bulgarian Parliament marks the first anniversary of the Renewable Energy Law of 2011

  Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Parliament marks the first anniversary of the Renewable Energy Law of 2011 with its first amendment
  - Schönherr

• Slovakia: A new subordination rule entered into force: the role of related party creditors in...

  bankruptcy post Amendment to the Slovak Bankruptcy Act
  - Schönherr

• Austria: Claim Management

  Construction projects are expensive, and they usually end up being more expensive than agreed. The principal often tries to mitigate this risk by concluding a lump-sum contract.
  - Schönherr

• EU TRANSACTION TAX: ADDITIONAL BURDENS ON BANKS?

  The finance ministers of the European Union met again last week to discuss the plan of introducing a single EU financial transaction tax. According to the plan, a 0.1 percent tax would be levied on bond and capital transactions, while a 0.01 percent tax would be charged on derivatives transactions.
  - Wolf Theiss