Publications

Your essential guide to commercial law developments across Central and Eastern Europe

Our engaging podcast and video series, "At CEEntre Stage," is a valuable resource for professionals and legal advisors seeking in-depth insights into various Corporate and M&A topics. Our series caters to diverse businesses in Central and Eastern Europe, providing comprehensive coverage of the ongoing challenges they face. Half-hour moderated discussions with legal experts and industry leaders allow us to gain valuable insights into their vision for the future, the challenges they face, and ways to improve their businesses. We also provide guidance on navigating legal complexities and avoiding potential traps, ensuring our listeners receive contextualized insights into the region's distinctive business landscape and regulatory environment. Our comprehensive coverage of various industries and their ongoing challenges makes "At CEEntre Stage" an essential resource for staying ahead of the curve in today's fast-paced economy. The podcast covers relevant Corporate and M&A topics from W&I insurances, FDI to ESOP, joint ventures, financing and ESG. Tune in to "At CEEntre Stage" today and stay informed on the latest insights and trends in the world of corporate law and M&A.

Welcome to CMS ‘On the Pulse’ video/podcast series for all Life Sciences & Healthcare professionals – legal, compliance, regulatory

Companies acting in the food supply chain for 2021 should revise their supply agreements and harmonise their business practices with the new national laws implementing Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in B2B relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. The unfair trading practices (so-called UTPs) scheme must be transposed to national legislations by 1 May 2021. WHAT? The UTPs scheme seeks to combat B2B practices in the agricultural and food supply chain that grossly deviate from good commercial conduct, are contrary to good faith and fair dealing, and are unilaterally imposed by one trading partner on another. In short, the intention of the rules is to shield agricultural producers or any natural or legal person selling agricultural and food products from UTPs. The Directive envisages that national laws will appoint competent authorities to enforce the UTP rules. WHO? The rules are not automatically applicable to all supplier-buyer relationships. The rules apply when there is a significant imbalance in negotiation power, which is assessed by comparing the annual turnovers of the parties. HOW? Precautionary measures for determining business relationship conditions must be applied since national laws have a wide discretion in defining the UTPs, provided that at least those specified in the Directive are included. The list of UTPs is divided into practices that are always forbidden (e.g., payment periods longer than 30 or 60 days (depending on the type of products), unilaterally changing certain terms of a supply agreement, etc.) and those forbidden depending on the circumstances (e.g., requiring the supplier to bear the costs of discounts or advertising, or to accept back unsold products without the obligation of the buyer to pay for them or for their disposal).

Commercial conduct has become increasingly complex during the past years – not only, but also because of the growing importance of the World Wide Web as a marketplace. This is why commercial law...

At CMS we pride ourselves on putting the needs and wants of our clients first. With over 3,000 lawyers, across 59 offices, CMS is a truly international law firm and we have a great understanding of the...

The CMS Commercial Law Group Guide provides answers to the most commonly asked questions in the area of distribution and addresses important differences across European jurisdictions. Whilst many aspects...