Companies from Western countries increasingly find that their (sanctioned) contractual partners from Russia are trying to circumvent arbitration clauses by resorting to Russian courts. In an order of 1 June 2023 (12 SchH 5/22), the Kammergericht (i.e., the Higher Regional Court of Berlin) shed light on topics surrounding these issues, affirming the admissibility of arbitral proceedings even though the Russian company had already lodged a claim in Russia. In addition, the Kammergericht provided clarifications on the service of legal documents when Russian authorities refuse to serve documents under international conventions. Important conclusions can be drawn from this decision for future proceedings, both for procedural and substantive issues.

BLOMSTEIN Senior Associate Dr. Leonard von Rummel wurde im Rahmen der gestrigen Mitgliederversammlung des Forum Contracting e.V. in den Vorstand des Vereins gewählt.

CELIS Institute invited BLOMSTEIN partner Roland M. Stein to join the Institute as Deputy Director. This appointment marks yet another milestone in the yearlong collaboration between CELIS Institute and BLOMSTEIN, further strengthening their shared commitment to advancing strategic dialogue amongst various stakeholders on foreign direct investment policy and economic security.

Wir freuen uns bekanntzugeben, dass BLOMSTEIN drei neue Counsel ernennt:

• Mit Dr. Elisa Theresa Hauch, die zum 1. September 2023 zu uns gestoßen ist, erweitern wir uns um eine versierte Kartellrechts-Expertin, die zuletzt bei Amazon Music als Inhouse Juristin tätig war und zuvor bei namhaften US-Kanzleien in Brüssel beraten hat.

Zwei weitere Counsel ernennen wir aus eigenen Reihen zum
1. Januar 2024:

• Dr. Leonard Freiherr von Rummel ist Spezialist im Außenwirtschaftsrecht. Seit seinem Beginn bei BLOMSTEIN schon kurz nach unserer Gründung hat er sich zu einem führenden Namen in den Bereichen Investitionskontrolle, Zoll- und Verbrauchsteuerrecht sowie Exportkontrolle entwickelt und entscheidend zum Erfolg unserer außenwirtschaftsrechtlichen Praxis beigetragen.

• Auch Dr. Christopher Wolters gehört bereits seit Gründungstagen zu unserem Team und hat als Spezialist im Vergabe- und Außenwirtschaftsrecht vor allem unsere Praxis für nationale Sicherheit (mit Schwerpunkt auf Rüstungsbeschaffung sowie Exportkontrolle) und Vergaberecht in den Sektoren Healthcare und IT maßgeblich mit auf- und ausgebaut.

The German government considers green hydrogen to be a vital alternative to fossil fuels and thus a key element in the energy transition and climate protection. Consequently, it presented a National Hydrogen Strategy in 2020, which provided for a framework for the future production, transport, and usage of hydrogen and thus for corresponding innovations and investments. Last week, the Federal Government presented an updated strategy which is adapted to the latest developments and sets forth targets for 2030. The National Hydrogen Strategy 2.0. offers numerous additional opportunities for companies active in the hydrogen sector.

BLOMSTEIN is a proud sponsor of this year’s German national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

On 15 September 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on the question whether competing tenders submitted by group companies may be excluded from public procurement procedures even absent a violation of Article 101 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) due to the “group privilege” (Case C-416/21).

BLOMSTEIN has successfully represented an energy company in a multi-million Euro excise tax dispute before the fiscal court Düsseldorf (FG Düsseldorf). After a long litigation over the taxation of a chemical product, the court upheld the company’s view in total.

On 18 May 2022, the General Court (GC) of the European Union upheld a fine of EUR 28 million imposed on Canon for partially implementing its acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC) before it was cleared under EU merger control rules. The decision sheds new light on when interim measures are considered an implementation of a transaction. The Canon case follows a series of recent ‘gun jumping’ decisions with significant fines, i.e. cases where competition authorities found that parties to a notifiable transaction implemented the transaction prior to merger control clearance. Several lessons can be drawn from the case for multi-stage M&A transactions. This briefing outlines the key take aways of the case and recent practice more generally.

On 23 March the European Commission has adopted temporarily applicable State aid rules enabling Member States to support businesses particularly hit by the economic repercussions following the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. This includes economic consequences of sanctions imposed on Russia and Russia’s countersanctions.