The Legal 500

Legal Developments worldwide

• Turkey: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies

  Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (" SPAC "), which are incorporated to achieve the purpose of investing and merging with a non-public company, were first introduced in the United States in 1990s and recently increased its popularity globally. Unlike other countries, SPACs entered into Turkish legal system relatively late with the Communiqué on Common Principles Regarding Significant Transactions and Appraisal Right (Communiqué No. II-23.1) of the Capital Markets Board (" CMB "), published in the Official Gazette dated 24.12.2013 numbered 28861(" Appraisal Right Communiqué "). Currently, there is no SPAC listed under Borsa Istanbul (" BIST ") in Turkey. SPACs are very similar to venture capital structure and can be considered as a strong alternative for investors and shareholders in Turkey as well.
  - ELIG Gurkaynak Attorneys-at-Law

• Right of Set off under the UAE Civil Transaction Law No. 5 of 1985 and the view from the DIFC

  In a 2018 judgment the DIFC, discussed and decided upon the concept of set-off under the UAE Civil Transaction Law No. 5 of 1985 (the “Civil Code”).
  - Mahmood Hussain Advocates & Legal Consultancy

• Law of 16 July 2019 implementing the EuVECA and EuSEF regulations and amending the RAIF law

  The Law of 16 July 2019 implementing the regulations on EuVECA, EuSEF, ELTIF and MMF (the “Regulations”) and amending the RAIF law entered into force on 22 July 2019 (the “Law of 16 July 2019”).
  - Chevalier & Sciales

• Thriving in Regulation: The case for DLTs

  The unprecedented expansion of the use of DLTs in various industries and disciplines has shed light to the dire need of regulation. Would it though be worth it to sacrifice some degree or even the total idea of true decentralization to achieve this end?
  - Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC

• DO FIDIC RULE APPLY IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS IN UAE?

  Since a very long time, FIDIC (The International Federation of Consulting Engineers) is commonly used a standard for international construction and engineering contracts and is very frequently used in UAE. It mainly governs the construction works within the country and in GCC. 
  - Al Rowaad Advocates & Legal Consultants

• Communiqué on Equity Crowdfunding Is Officially Published

  By way of background, in January 2019, the Capital Markets Board (“ CMB ”) had issued an announcement on its website on the Draft Communiqué on Equity Crowdfunding [1] . The CMB has now officially published the Communiqué on Crowdfunding No. III-35/A (“ Communiqué ”), on October 3, 2019. The Communiqué entered into force as of October 3, 2019.
  - ELIG Gurkaynak Attorneys-at-Law

• Beneficial Ownership Concept new interpretation from the Russian federal tax service

  The recent interpretative letter issued by the Russian Federal Tax Services (“FTS”) on 08th August 2019, has provided further guidance as to the application of the Beneficial Ownership Concept, further to the letter initially provided on the 12th of April 2018 which adopted a strict approach of the concept. 
  - Kinanis LLC

• Cyprus and Netherlands Double Tax Treaty Update

  Cyprus has concluded the negotiations for the avoidance of double taxation with the Netherlands. The double tax treaty was agreed at technocratic level in Hague. It is expected to be signed by the end of 2019 or early in 2020.
  - Kinanis LLC

• Vacancy - Senior Corporate Lawyer

  The Senior Corporate Lawyer, who will be reporting to Partners, will be working with both the firm’s legal team as well as the financial services team. The successful candidate will be requested to show initiative, take on certain responsibilities within the firm, work in a multinational environment and will immediately be given the opportunity to further advance their career within the law firm.
  - Gauci-Maistre Xynou

• CJEU RULED ON THE APPLICATION OF THE BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP CONCEPT

  The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on February 26, 2019, in the “Danish Beneficial Ownership Cases”, can be perceived as a landmark on the interpretation of the Beneficial Ownership concept under the Interest and Royalties Directive (IRD) and the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (PSD).
  - Kinanis LLC