The Supreme Court provided clarification as to the cancellation of a lease contract in relation to the transfer of rights and obligations arising from the lease contract to a new lessor
May 2008The Estonian Law of Obligations Act establishes that upon the transfer of rights and obligations arising from a lease contract to a new lessor due to the transfer or encumbrance of a leased thing, the new lessor may cancel the lease contract by adhering to the terms for cancellation provided for by law. However, a residential lease contract or a lease contract of business premises may be cancelled by the acquirer for such reason only if the acquirer urgently needs the leased premises. But the law does not specify in which cases the new lessor can rely on its urgent need to use the leased premises. A recent judgment of the Supreme Court brings some clarity to the situation. Read more
7 lawyers joining Tark & Co
May 2008In May, Tark & Co Law Offices recruited seven new colleagues: Erki Kergandberg, Margo Lemetti and Piret Blankin as partners, Alo Noormets, Elmer Muna and Lada Riisna as associates, and Jaana Penne as a lawyer. Read more
Imbi Jürgen presented wind power in Estonia at IBA Conference
April 2008Imbi Jürgen of Tark & Co took part in the IBA Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law held in Copenhagen on 28 April 2008 and made a presentation on wind energy in Estonia. Read more
ESSAY COMPETITION
April 2008Law Office Tark & Co invites students to enter an essay competition Read more
Imbi Jürgen at Energy Law Group meeting in Warsaw
April 2008On 25 April 2008, Imbi Jürgen participated at Energy Law Group (ELG) meeting in Warsaw.
The ELG is made up of lawyers with specialist expertise in the energy and natural resources sectors and all belonging to independent European law firms. The ELG covers most European countries and constitutes the most extensive network of European experts in energy and natural resources law. The meeting was hosted by leading Polish law firm Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak. Presentations on the liberalisation of the Polish electricity market, the practical aspects of cross-border electricity trading and the renewable energy opportunities in Poland were given during the public session of the meeting by leading Polish experts.
Amendments to the Commercial Code
April 2008On 15 April, changes to the Commercial Code entered into force, harmonising Estonian law with the Directive 2006/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 77/91/EEC as regards the formation of public limited liability companies and the maintenance and alteration of their capital ("capital requirements directive"). Read more
Aare Tark participated in a state visit to Ireland
April 2008Aare Tark accompanied President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on his state visit to Ireland from 13 to 17 April 2008 as a part of the business delegation. The aims of the visit included the promotion and development of economic and trade relations between Estonia and Ireland and EU issues. An Estonian-Irish business seminar was held during the visit, where an overview was given of Estonian economy and investment climate. Read more
Requirements on business plans of insurance companies modified in Lithuania
April 2008Insurance Supervisory Commission of Lithuania amended the requirements applicable to the content and form of the insurance companies’ business plans as well as the procedure for their submission.
The changes mainly relate to reinsurance arrangements in the business plans.
Change of control rules tested in Lithuanian Supreme Court
April 2008The Supreme Court of Lithuania recently decided a case of R.J. and T.R.V. AB “Spauda” on the annulment of the decision of the general shareholders meeting. Read more
Branch rules for banks amended in Lithuania
April 2008On 21 February 2008, the Board of the Bank of Lithuania enacted a resolution “On the subdivisions of branches of banks and foreign banks in the Republic of Lithuania”, which simplifies the procedure for establishment of bank subdivisions. Read more
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive was transposed into Latvian legislation
April 2008On 4 October 2007 (in force from 8 November 2007) amendments to the Latvian Financial Instrument Market Law were adopted concerning certain norms which had to be harmonized by February 2008. The amendments were made to implement the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) which allows, inter alia, establishment of alternative stock exchange with lower regulatory requirements. Read more
Aare Tark Elected Chairman of Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Advisory Committee on Internal Security
April 2008At the first meeting of the Advisory Committee held on 24 March, Aare Tark, Managing Partner of Law Office Tark & Co, was elected as Chairman of the Committee.
On 24 March the Minister of Internal Affairs, Jüri Pihl, approved the new membership of the Committee. Besides Aare Tark, the members are Mall Hellam, Priit Hõbemägi, Juhan Kivirähk, Toomas Luman, Keit Pentus, Indrek Pertelson, Raul Rebane, Indrek Saar (Vice Chairman), Ain Seppik, Einar Soone, Ivar Tallo, Stanislav Tšerepanov, and Peeter Tulviste. The main aim of the Committee is to advise the Minister of Internal Affairs on issues of internal security in order to take greater account of the expectations of society in improving internal security. The members were elected for a term of two years.
The right of security of a lessor with respect to a lease contract may precede the reservation of ownership
April 2008The Law of Obligations Act provides that the lessor of an immovable has the right of security over movables located on the leased immovable and, upon the lease of a room, over movables which are part of furnishings or are used together with the room in order to secure claims arising from a lease contract. However, certain limitations are also applicable to such a right of security. For example, the law provides that the right of third parties to things concerning which the lessor knew or should have known that the things do not belong to the lessee precedes the right of security of the lessor. A recent decision of the Supreme Court clarified the application of the right of security of a lessor in relation to the rights of third parties.
Read more
MTF-s eligible for UCITS funds
March 2008Due to the amendments of the Investment Funds Act, as of 15 March 2008 the UCITS funds and other open-ended investment funds, which sell their units or shares to the public, are permitted to invest up to 100% of its assets also into securities admitted to trading on an alternative regulated market (e.g. an MTF) of an European Economic Area member state which operates regularly and is recognized and open to the public. Read more
New Advertising Act passed by the Parliament
March 2008On 12 of March 2008 the Estonian Parliament passed the new law on advertising (the Advertising Act) the date of entry into force of which is 1 of November 2008. The intention of the law is to aggregate the regulatory requirements for advertisements to the widest extent possible into one act. Nevertheless, the sector specific requirements (e.g. in the case of the securities markets, investment funds) have been left to the scope of specific regulation in order to achieve wider legal clarity, as these requirements are in close interaction with the provision of certain services. Considering aforesaid, when advertising investment funds or investment services, the Advertising Act is to be applied in compliance with the specific rules set forth respectively in the Investment Funds Act or in the Securities Market Act. Read more
„Mandatory takeover rules changed
March 2008On 15 March 2008, a change to Estonian takeover rules will enter into force clarifying the financing of a bid. Until now, it was unclear whether the requirement that a bidder must have financing secured before announcing the bid applied to mandatory takeovers. New law will remove this ambiguity and thus those who acquire control over issuer must have financing in place in advance. The change is probably due to recent takeover of AS Kalev, an Estonian leading confectionary, where few larger shareholders concluded voting agreement and controlled over 50% of the company, but negotiated financing only after announcement of the bid.“
Tark & Co partners in Riga
March 2008On 29 February, another meeting of the Alliance partners was held in the Riga office of Loze, Grunte & Cers. Read more
Tark & Co held a M&A seminar
March 2008On 28 February, Tark & Co in liaison with Tallinna Konverentsid held a seminar on “Mergers and Acquisitions: An Alternative to Organic Business Growth.” Read more
Banking and Finance practice group in Riga
March 2008On 15-16 February 2008, the meeting of Banking and finance practice groups of law firm Tark & Co and its strategic partners Sutkien?, Pilkauskas and Partners (Lithuania) and Loze, Grunte & Cers (Latvia) took place in Riga. Read more
Best practices of insurance agreements
February 2008In February 2008, amendments to the insurance agreements’ general guidelines adopted by the Estonian FSA entered into force. Like the new insurance mediation guidelines adopted by the Estonian FSA, the guidelines now regulate how the Estonian insurers should establish their clients’ insurable interest.
Money laundering rules revised
February 2008A new Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act came into force on 28 January 2008. By the new Act, directive 2005/60/EC on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing was transposed into Estonian law. The 40 Recommendations and 9 Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing adopted by the Financial Action Task Force were also taken into account when drafting the new Act.
Best practices in insurance mediation
February 2008On 1 February 2008, insurance mediation guidelines adopted by the Estonian FSA entered into force. The guidelines regulate how Estonian insurance intermediaries should establish their clients' insurable interest and clarify the rules transposing Directive 2002/92/EC, including rules on avoidance of conflicts of interests and provision of advisory services by insurance brokers. Intermediaries may deviate from certain provisions but should justify the deviation ("comply or explain"). The guidelines make it advisable to review internet and telephone sales procedures of intermediaries acting in Estonia.
Toomas Taube was speaker at a conference
January 2008Toomas Taube, partner of Tark & Co, was one of the speakers at a conference for economic affairs diplomats organized by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 9, 2008. Mr. Taube gave a presentation concerning private international law.
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