Welcome Dinner
On Sunday, 10 July 2022, we had the honor to attend the welcome dinner of the Directorate-General Agri-Food High-Level Business Mission to Vietnam. This mission aims to give European producers’ representatives the opportunity to meet not only potential partners from local markets but also representatives of the agri-food sector from the whole region, in order to, at the same time, facilitate European agricultural food and beverage exports and to benefit from the positive outcomes of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (#EVFTA).
Obligation to register packagings for goods
From 01.07.2022 on, all manufacturers, traders and importers who are selling goods in packagings typically accumulating as waste with private end consumers after being used on the German market, are obliged to register their packaging with the “packaging register” (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister).
New investment strategy China
German and European companies involved in China need a new strategy for their investment in this important market. This is the result of recent political and legal developments. Those medium-sized companies in particular that have been active in China for a long time need to rethink the direction of their future engagement.
Secondary Sanctions, EU Blocking Regulation and the EUCJ Judgment of 21.12.2021 (Case C-124/20)
In our analysis of the EUCJ ruling of 21.12.2021 (Case C-124/20), we examine the relationship of the envisaged proportionality test to the authorization procedure under Article 5(2) of the EU Blocking Regulation in the case of secondary sanctions.
Digital Corporate Law - Online Certifications and Notarisations available as of 01.08.2022
German corporate law is (finally) going digital. In implementation of the EU Digitisation Directive of 20 June 2019 (Directive (EU) 2019/1151 - amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 – Abl. L 186 of 11 July 2019), the German legislator first passed the Act Implementing the Digitisation Directive (DiRUG of 5 July 2021, Federal Law Gazette I p. 3338) and - even before its entry into force - on 13 April 2021 initiated a government bill amending the DiRUG (RegE).
German Federal Labour Court strengthens employer rights in disputes related to overtime-payment
Since the so-called "Attendance Record Decision" of the ECJ (European Court of Justice) has been delivered on 14.05.2019 (Case No. C-5/18), there has been considerable uncertainty on the part of employers with regard to the burden of proof in an overtime lawsuit. The ECJ had ruled that the entire duration of the daily working time of each employee must be recorded.
Girls` and Boys` Day @ SNB
On April 28th the Girls` and Boys` Day 2022 took place at SNB. Five children between the ages of 11 and 14 took part in a criminal trial with taking of evidence before the Hamburg District Court and a civil trial before the Hamburg Regional Court.
Sanctions, Counter-Sanctions and China Political Risk
If the EU imposes sanctions against China in the context of certain political developments, the question arises to what extent European companies may be affected by countermeasures taken by the Chinese government. However, the same question already arises with regard to existing or planned US measures that European companies will have to comply with.
Read more … Sanctions, Counter-Sanctions and China Political Risk