The legal team, representing the defendant, proved that there were no legal grounds for imposing sanctions and penalty.

GOLAW’s attorneys insisted that the defendant had taken all the measures provided for by law to ensure the employment of persons with disabilities, including the creation of appropriate jobs and timely reporting to government agencies. However, due to objective circumstances, including the absence of candidates with disabilities who wished to be employed, it became impossible to fulfill the quota.

The court upheld the defense’s position and found that the defendant had not violated the law, and therefore the imposition of sanctions and penalty was unjustified.

In the decision, the court noted that the defendant had proven that it had taken all measures in its power to prevent the offense, and therefore there were no grounds for prosecution.

The project was handled by a team of Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice of GOLAW: Partner and Head of practice Kateryna Manoylenko, Partner Kateryna Tsvetkova, Senior Associate Nataliia Matviichuk and Associate Ilona Rudnyk.

With the support of GOLAW’s team of attorneys, the bank filed a petition with the court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the company that owned the largest titanium dioxide plant in Eastern Europe. The plant was located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and has been under occupation since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In 2021, the debtor alienated its main asset to a russian business and failed to fulfill its obligations to creditors, including a German bank.

At the same time, the Bankruptcy Code of Ukraine recently introduced a prohibition on the opening of bankruptcy proceeding against companies whose property complexes are located on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or if a debtor’s insolvency arose due to aggression against Ukraine.

The debtor argued both the existence of an integral property complex in the occupied territories of Ukraine and its own insolvency as a result of armed aggression (despite the sale of the plant to the russian business).

The Supreme Court agreed with the arguments of GOLAW team and upheld the decisions of the lower courts to open bankruptcy proceedings.

The resolution adopted by the court became the important precedent in which the court clarified that the prohibition on initiating bankruptcy proceedings under clauses 1-6 of the Final and Transitional Provisions of the CUEPB applies to those legal relations and cases that existed before the relevant provision came into force on 29.07.2023, but not earlier than 24.02.2022.

These conclusions of the Supreme Court will significantly impact future court practice in bankruptcy cases of debtors affected by the aggression of the russian federation and will significantly complicate possible procedural abuses.

Reference to the resolution of the Supreme Court of 29.08.2024:  https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/121293225

The project was handled by a team of GOLAW’s litigation attorneys: partner and head of practice Kateryna Manoylenko, partner Kateryna Tsvetkova and associate Ihor Selivakin.

The project consisted of creating a center for the preservation and restoration of Czech heritage sites in Ukraine, as well as promoting Ukrainian-Czech ties in cultural, sports, historical, educational, scientific, economic, tourism, and other areas.

As part of the project, the GOLAW team provided legal support on the registration of the public union and the purchase of real estate. It was a rather long journey that began with the preparation of all the necessary documents for the state registration of a legal entity, legal support during the state registration of a legal entity, inspection of real estate for potential purchase, preparation of all the necessary documents for the purchase and sale transaction, and support during the conclusion of the purchase and sale transaction.

The acquired house near Zboriv will become a memorial building intended as a universal facility for visitors. It will be a kind of cultural center for the Ukrainian-Czech community, as well as a hotel-museum.

This project clearly shows that even in such difficult times, it is worth dreaming and creating!