6^th of July 2010. Continuing their annual tradition, the KN Tax team again hosted its annual breakfast with the guest speaker Mr Vuk Djokovic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Ms. Natasa Kovacevic, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Finance. Attended by 40 top international and Serbian corporates the occasion resulted in an active and sometimes heated discussion on current and possible future policy and measures. Mr. Djokovic presented major activities of the Ministry of Finance in the previous year and gave an overview the proposed tax reform.

Karanovic & Nikolic in association with the Economic Chamber of Commerce held its promotion&press conference on KN publication Focus on Energy on 15th of June 2010. Attended by Mr. Fatmir Besimi, Macedonian Minister of Economy who pointed out that “The fact that our country is selected for the promotion of this significant publication speaks that Republic of Macedonia has already proven itself as country-leader in the region from the aspect of the priority that it gives to the energy, in the context of the economic development, but also as a country with great energy potential capable to attract greater number of foreign investments.”

Presentations from Milos Vuckovic, partner at Karanovic & Nikolic, highlighted that Macedonia is currently one of the most perspective countries in the region for energy investments and he hopes that the KN Focus on Energy publication will assist investors in better understanding the legal and regulatory framework surrounding their investment. Other eminent speakers at this occasion were: Mrs. Elena Urumovska, Head of EBRD office in Macedonia who used the occasion to highlight the numerous bank programmes designed to promote investment in renewable energy in the region and Professor Dimitar Hadzi Misev, President of Energy Association who provided an excellent overview of the current opportunities in the market and possible legal and political obstacles for investors.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce together with FIAT Automobili Serbia and Law Firm Karanović & Nikolić organised a Working Breakfast for Business Managers in FIAT Center, Bulevar despota Stefana 12, on 14th and 28th of May.

Karanovic & Nikolic organised a Cocktail Party on the occasion of the EBRD Annual Conference in Zagreb. It was held on Thursday, 13 May 2010 at The Regent Esplanade Hotel, Le Bistro restaurant,

This event was a great opportunity to assess the latest political, economic and social changes, and business developments in the entire region.

 INVITATION

Co-hosted by the Law Firm Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic

New Bankruptcy Regime outlined

21^st of April, 2009 Karanovic & Nikolic organised the Dispute Resolution Seminar designed to introduce the novelties in the new bankruptcy law to clients. The panel of speakers included Ivana Rackovic, Head of Dispute Resolution, Maja Jovancevic, Head of Banking and Finance, Jovana Batalo, Head of Employment and Zoran Skopljak, Head of Tax. The objective was to present and discuss some of the key novelties relating to bankruptcy regulations and the impact that such changes will have on both local and regional commercial practice.

Karanovic & Nikolic organized traditional Tax Breakfast Event on “Tax Procedures and Tax Administrative Disputes”. Attended by leading Serbian and International corporate clients of the firm, the presenters included all members of the KN Tax team and our guest Slobodan Ruzic, a highly specialised criminal lawyer.

The aim of the event was to have the KN Tax Team discuss the most important steps and actions to be taken during a tax control or inspection and tax administrative dispute. Attendees were advised on the legal and practical steps on commencement of tax control, defensive strategies, temporary measures, confidentiality, tax resolutions and legal remedies during the tax control. In addition, the recently adopted Law on Administrative Disputes which, inter alia, provides for Administrative Courts and mandatory public hearings which is a new approach in resolving administrative disputes was presented. Finally, in recognition of the increased possibility of criminal charges being raised, Mr. Ruzic advised on criminal liability in tax matters and gave practical insight on how best to defend ones position.

The Association of Serbian Banks organised the Seminar on the application of INSOL Principles to restructuring in Serbia.

The seminar was held on 24 March 2010 at the Association of Serbian Banks. This topic was presented by experts from international law firm, Clifford Chance and regional law firm Karanovic & Nikolic.

Discussion was held by Mr. John Fenemore (Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Clifford Chance), Mr. Milos Vuckovic ( Senior Partner, Karanovic & Nikolic), Ms. Maja Jovancevic (Partner, Banking & Finance, Karanovic & Nikolic) and Mr. Darko Jovanovic (Partner, Banking & Finance, Karanovic & Nikolic).

Court Reform in Serbia and its practical implications for business

KN Masterclass in financial restructuring for banks with Clifford Chance, 28th of January

Karanovic & Nikolic and guest international legal experts from Badea Clifford Chance organised the first of KN Masterclass Series for leading bankers in Serbia on 28^th of January 2010, at Hyatt Hotel, Belgrade.

The aim of Financial Restructuring for Bankers was to discuss the practical steps to be taken by banking sector facing challenges in the time of crises with the special reference on the international and regional experience in this field and the present practice in Serbia outlining the possibilities and solutions to potential issues affecting borrowers, lenders and creditors.

Discussion was held by Mr. Perry Zizzi (Senior Partner, Badea Clifford Chance), Mr. John Fenemore (Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Badea Clifford Chance), Mr. Milos Vuckovic ( Senior Partner, Karanovic & Nikolic), Ms. Maja Jovancevic (Partner, Banking & Finance, Karanovic & Nikolic) and Mr. Darko Jovanovic (Partner, Banking & Finance, Karanovic & Nikolic).

Materials from this seminar will be send on request. Further information available from Ms. Ana Komnenic,

ana.komnenic@karanovic-nikolic.com.

KN Tax Team organized another working breakfast held at the Hotel In, on 3^rd of December 2009. Since the end of calendar year is time when companies are warming-up for statutory financial reporting, KN Tax Team decided that the topic of this KN Tax Breakfast should be: Filing of annual corporate income tax return. Presentation, which was held by Zoran Skopljak, Bojan Stanivuk and Veljko Vukovic, contained most relevant items of the return, with special consideration to the highlights in income tax interpretations and developments in 2009.

Attended by over 80 HR and Legal Officers, this interactive debate was centered on the actual implemetation of the Law scheduled for 28th of May 2010.

Restructuring and Insolvency options were discussed for the first time at the conference organised by leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and law firm Karanovic & Nikolic, held on 16^th of October in Belgrade. Designed to bring together the Serbian banking sector and leading corporate, the aim of the event is to discuss the practical steps to be taken by companies facing financial difficulty in the crisis.

On 22^nd of September 2009, Karanovic & Nikolic presented its third publication, KN Focus on Competition 09, written and edited by Rastko Petaković, Patricia Gannon, Bojan Vučković, Bogdan Gecić and Jelena Adamović.

The KN Focus on Competition 09 book launch at the IN Hotel was celebrated by a cocktail in attendance of Competition Commission representatives and other eminent guests.

The publication contains a retrospective view on regulation appliance of Competition law in Serbia and on the Competition Commissions work in 2009 with the special focus on the newly introduced Competition Law which came into force in July 2009 and shall be applicable as of November, 2009.

Focus on Competition 09

U fokusu: Konkurencija 09

KN Tax team successfully organised a working breakfast, held at the Life Design Hotel, on 17th of September. The topic of the KN Tax Breakfast was: Transfer pricing rules in Serbia and the presentation was held by Zoran Skopljak, Bojan Stanivuk and Veljko Vukovic.

KN Real Estate team successfully organised a working breakfast, held at the IN Hotel, on 15^th of September. The guests participated in the discussion on the latest news stipulated by the new Law on Spatial Planning and Construction.

9th of June, KN Tax team successfully organised a working breakfast, held at the IN Hotel. Guest speakers were Mr. Vuk Djokovic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia and Ms. Natasa Kovacevic, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia. The introductory speech was followed by the discussion on the key issues in the fields of taxation and tax policy.

KN Real Estate team was pleased at the excellent turnout of clients and colleagues at our annual event hosted at IGUANA, 21st of May. A combination of good food, drinks, sunshine and jazz made it a winning event !

KN Karanovic & Nikolic organised a round table to launch of its publication entitled KN Focus on: Infrastructure Finance held at the Hyatt Hotel, Crystal Ballroom on Tuesday, 7th of April at 5 PM followed by a cocktail.

Development of infrastructure is one of the key priorities for a country in transition to achieve economic growth and competitiveness. The Serbian Government have identified a number of priority projects across numerous sectors but financing such projects often proves costly and needs to be done effectively in order to maximise public finance.

KN Finance team working together with our infrastructure group has analysed the present legal framework in Serbia and outlines the options for financing our infrastructure needs going forward. With guest articles from leading international experts, regional best practice and an overview of present options under the concession law, our Focus on Infrastructure Finance publication is a comprehensive reference for practitioners and stakeholders in this area.

The Book was launched at a private round table with practitioner and policy makers at the Hyatt hotel on 7th of April. Further information on the publication available from Ana Komnenic,  ana.komnenic@karanovic-nikolic.com.

KN Focus on Infrastructure Finance, click here

On 27 March 2009, a large international meeting Belgrade Arbitration Conference was held at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. Karanović & Nikolić, together with other sponsors, supported organization of this significant conference and presence of a vast number of lawyers from all over the world.

On this occasion, Karanović & Nikolić organized a lunch in the restaurant “Iguana”, attended by eminent arbitrators accompanied by some of the lawyers from the Office. A party in the club “Underground” was organized the same evening for all the participants of both the conference and the Pre-moot Competition which was held on the following days at the Faculty of Law.

KN Competition Team at Karanovic & Nikolic organised the winetasting, held on Thursday, 19^th of February at 6 PM, at the Barbaresco Wine Bar, followed by a cocktail in attendance of the eminent guests. Barbaresco Wine Bar is located at Nebojsina Street 8, Vracar.

On 28^th of January, students from the Belgrade Law Faculty, visited Karanović & Nikolićand met with Partners and leading lawyers from the Firm. This event was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Center for Career Development of Belgrade University. The visit is the part of a project entitled “Meet the business first hand”, to enable students to get more information about how business functions in the most successful Serbian companies.

KN Karanovic & Nikolic sucessfully organized 2008 Year in Review event outlining the major legal changes and how they may affect your business.

KN 2008 Year in Review was celebrated at the Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday, 10th of December followed by a cocktail in attendance of the eminent guests.

Invitation

Year in review 2008 brochure, click here

Market Inspectors in Montenegro trained for taking serious actions against piracy

On 5 March 2008. the first training for market and other inspectors in Montenegro was held in Podgorica, regarding the methods of recognizing and distinguishing pirated software.

[Read more]

KN Real Estate department leader Djordje Nikolic presented the current legal position and challenges facing investors in the real estate sector at the Ekonomist SEE Real Estate Conference held on 3^rd – 4^th March 2008.

With over 300 attendees this event ranks as one of the leading gathering of investors in the region and Djordje Nikolic outlined practical legal issues faced by developers and financers in this high growth area.

Rastko Petakovic outlined latest information on the activity of the Competition commission and now companies can ensure compliance with the regulations.

With the sun shining, KN Real Estate lawyers attended the recent Ekonomist Real Estate conference in Bečići, Montenegro. With over 200 attendees and an impressive group of speakers this event was a combination of promotion event for the coastline and opportunities in Montenegro today but also a realistic presentation of issues facing investors as they explore this newly emerging market.

Karanovic & Nikolic Partners Dejan Nikolic and Patricia Gannon attend the official opening of SEE Legal Croatian law firm Divjak Topic & Bahtijarevic offices on 25th October.

Partner Milos Vuckovic and Senior Associate Maja Jovancevic from Karanovic & Nikolic Law Office participated at the SEE Legal Finance Event organized in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 29^th. The event represents a result of the initiative aiming at connecting leading finance law experts from the region and helping them in developing know-how on legal approach to financial instruments increasingly used in the region of South East Europe.

Finance lawyers from 11 jurisdictions discussed the most relevant financial topics including financial derivatives, repo operations, foreign lending operations, syndicated loans, financial assistance rules.The event also included a combination of specific case studies focused on securitization, marketing of foreign capital market instruments, leveraged buy out and aircraft finance, presented by Securitization, Capital Markets, and Project Finance Teams. In particular, the participants focused on identifying the most critical problems of legal environment in each country and through exchange of experience and comparative analysis of local regulations discussed potential solutions.

A special guest of the conference has been Mr. Erkan Ayaz of Guaranti Bank who acquainted the participants with key features of today’s banking sector in Turkey. Finance conference in Istanbul is expected to be just beginning of co-operation and exchange of expertise between finance lawyers within SEE Legal network.