Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) law firm participated in providing comments to the so-called great amendment to Act No. 185/2001 Coll., the Waste Act, introduced by the Ministry of the Environment at the end of February 2008.

Prague, 12 May 2008 – Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) has won the first ever Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence. At the ceremony in Barcelona on Thursday 8 May 2008, KSB was delighted to receive the award for National Law Firm of the Year 2008, Czech Republic. The award confirms that KSB is a leading Czech law firm, having already been named Law Firm of the Year, Czech Republic 2006 and 2007 by Who\'s Who Legal.

Václav Rovenský and Tomáš Sequens have recently authored the chapter on the Czech Republic for Getting the Deal Through – Gas Regulation 2008 edition, published by Law Business Research, London. The Czech chapter provides a clear and concise guide to the law governing the Czech gas market as well as many related business aspects. Available for download here.

Pavel Dejl and Radka Felgrová have recently authored the Czech chapter in The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2008, providing a clear guide to the basic law on dispute resolution in court and arbitration proceedings in the Czech Republic, the organisation of Czech courts and litigation under Czech law. Other points covered include assets available to the parties, instruments used by the court to direct the proceedings, types of court orders and the effects of court decisions. Arbitration is covered in a separate chapter. The Guide is published by the Global Legal Group. To view/download click here

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) acted for Heineken during the acquisition of Drinks Union, a.s., the Czech beverages group and owner of several Bohemian breweries (Krásné Březno, Velké Březno, Louny, Kutná Hora), whose portfolio includes the Zlatopramen brand.

KSB is one of the first to take part in Green Firm, a project organised by REMA Systém, a.s., a company duly licensed to manage electrical waste in the Czech Republic.

This article (published by C.H. Beck) by Václav Pátek (of KSB) provides a detailed legal analysis of VAT issues with a wider application than the narrowly defined specialise in the title suggests. Pátek examines selected aspects of financial and insurance services (in the current business climate no longer the sole province of banks and insurance companies) to compare Czech and EU VAT laws and to investigate whether Community law has been given full and proper effect with reference to selected services. Pátek's contribution will assist tax consultants, advocates and all of those working in the sector of tax administration, as well as all those seeking answers to VAT application issues in the seemingly narrow sector of financial and insurance services. In particular, some of the general principles identified will be applicable in areas additional to those indicated in the title. For further information click here

Pavel Dejl, Pavel Nosek and Ivo Šimeček have recently completed the chapter on the Czech Republic in A Practical Guide to National Competition Rules Across Europe – second edition, published by Kluwer Law International as part of their International Competition Law Series. True to its title, the publication is a comprehensive guide to competition law in the EU, Norway and Switzerland. As well taking an overall look at Czech competition law, the Czech chapter deals with related aspects of Community law and regulated markets legislation, cartel agreements, abuse of dominant position, competition law enforcement, powers of the Czech Antitrust Office and the law on concentration of undertakings, with illustrative recent judicial decisions. To download this chapter, click here

Pavel Nosek and Ivo Šimeček have recently written an article for The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Cartels & Leniency 2008, published by Global Legal Group, examining newly enacted provisions on regulation of cartels and the leniency program in the Czech Republic and briefly commenting on basic Czech competition law and the powers of the Czech Antitrust Office. The article also sets out basic information on proceedings before the Office, including reviews of its decisions and appeals. The article is available here

Martin Šolc, partner of Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB), has been elected Lawyer of the Year 2007, Commercial Law. His success means that KSB has won the award in three consecutive years - Jiří Balaštík was Lawyer of the Year 2005 (Property) and Professor Dědič was Lawyer of the Year 2006 (Commercial).

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) provided PPF Group N.V. with legal services in Czech and EU law in regard to establishment of European Company HC SE. The procedure involved merger of Home Credit Grand Holding a.s. and HC Holding a.s. into Dutch entity HCES N.V. which changed its legal form into HC SE as a result of the merger. The transaction included resolution of employee involvement issues in the merging companies and subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Netherlands and Slovakia.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík has been appointed by Hochtief CZ, a.s. as legal advisor for its consortium in connection with preparation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project titled “Project for Central Military Hospital’s Staff Dormitory, Hotel and Parking Place”. The project consists of financing, building and operation of Prague Central Military Hospital’s staff dormitory, hotel, parking place and related structures. The investment value of the project amounts to CZK 1 billion.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) extended its team in early January by attorney Jan Najman, whose practice is focused on the law of commercial companies, mergers and acquisitions and the law of commercial obligations.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík acted for RWE Transgas before the Brno Regional Office against the Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition on an appeal against a ruling on abuse of dominant position.

VGP’s share issue today is the second IPO on the Prague Stock Exchange this year offered by VGP, an industrial developer specialising in construction and lease of sites for logistics and light manufacture. Kocián Šolc Balaštík has advised VGP almost right from the start of its business activities in the Czech Republic on many matters including contract leases, land acquisitions as well as corporate and employment law.

Pavel Dejl, Pavel Nosek and Ivo Šimeček have recently contributed a chapter on the Czech Republic for publication in Leniency Regimes (pub. European Lawyer Limited) reflecting changes applied as from 28 June 2007 by the Czech Office for the Protection of Economic Competition and based on the ECN Model Leniency Program and the existing European Commission Leniency Program. Under the new regime, the Office may use its discretion to reduce fines imposed on parties to secret horizontal cartel agreements if they work together with the Office to detect and disclose such arrangements. The contribution is a full update on the position under the former Leniency Program dating from 2001. Download the chapter here

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík represented the Austrian company New Frontier Holding GmbH in purchase of sixty percent share in the Czech company Profinit, s.r.o., a provider of specialized IT solutions.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík assisted OKD in a further step toward its restructuring, consisting of spinning off part of OKD’s assets into a newly established company, as part of KSB’s continuing provision of consultancy to OKD and the RPG Group, to which OKD belongs. The spin-off took effect on 31 October 2007.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík organises the traditional Charity Concert for the Good Will Committee – Olga Havlová Foundation. This year is the concert’s thirteenth year, taking place on Sunday 25 November 2007, 7:00 p.m., at the concert hall of the Church of St. Simon and Jude in Prague Old Town.

Aleš Váňa is the latest member to join the team of attorneys at KSB’s Karlovy Vary branch. He joined the firm in November and is a specialist in civil and commercial law, litigation and real estate law. Aleš Váňa graduated from the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague in 2003 and subsequently obtained experience and knowledge in advising regional entrepreneurial entities, first as a junior lawyer and then as an attorney in 2007.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík advised Gordon Ramsay in connection with the opening of a new MAZE restaurant at the Hilton Prague Old Town (formerly Renaissance Hotel Prague). KSB's advice covered corporate and commercial, real property and labour law matters.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) fought off most of the mixed volleyball competition at Nymburk (5-7 October 2007) at the 10th Bar Games to come second.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík acted for participants in KSK BONO and Bono Servis on the sale of their 100% interests to MISPOL S.A., a Polish company listed on the Warsaw stock exchange and a market leader in the manufacture and distribution of canned meat, spreads, ready meals and animal feeds. The value of the transaction, also involving interests in other members of KSK BONO Holding in Poland and Slovakia, was 10 million EUR.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík advised <a href="http://www.sabic.com/" title="Saudi Basic Industries Corporation" >Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) on the Czech involvement in the world-wide acquisition of the plastics division from General Electric. The acquisition was completed on 31&nbsp;August 2007. The deal is worth more than 11 billion USD.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) law office represented Brau Union AG, a member of the multinational Heineken Brewery Group, before the Czech Anti-trust Office on an application for approval of the acquisition of Královský pivovar Krušovice. KŠB's wide-ranging services were instrumental in securing unconditional approval for the merger, granted by the Office on 3&nbsp;August 2007. With the acquisition of Krušovice brewery, the Heineken Group has a major player on the market for beer production and distribution in the Czech Republic.

Václav Rovenský and Tomáš Sequens prepared the article on legal regulations and rules for the Czech gas market business. The contribution is part of the publication Getting the Deal Through – Gas Regulation 2007, issued by the London based analytical company Law Business Research. The publication summarizes national gas markets in 36 world-wide jurisdictions. The chapter covering the Czech gas industry was included in the publication for the first time since 2003, when the publication started. The contribution can be downloaded from here.

Helena Navrátilová contributed to the publication Freeman’s Guide to European Property 2007 with an article focusing on tax issues in the field of real estate in the Czech Republic. The publication analyses the details of the property market in more than thirty European countries. The contribution can be downloaded from here.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) successfully represented Eurotel Praha (currently Telefónica O2 Czech Republic) before the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic against the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision in favour of the Antimonopoly Office for alleged abuse of a dominant position.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík represented FONTERON HOLDINGS LIMITED in sale of a majority block of shares in HELI FOOD FRESH a.s., a leader on the Czech ready-made meals market, and in establishment of a joint-venture between shareholders of this company. Bakkavor Group, a major UK provider of cooled precooked food, bought the shares and became partners with FONTERON HOLDINGS LIMITED in the joint-venture.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík was the exclusive legal partner for the seminar “Use of Extra-Budgetary Financing for Regional Projects” organised by regional offices of the Czech Republic in Brussels. The seminar took place on 6&nbsp;June 2007 on the premises of the Prague House as part of an extended meeting of the national delegation at the Regions&rsquo; Committee.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided full legal services to Heineken Group member Brau Union AG in its acquisition of a wholly-owned share in Královský pivovar Krušovice&nbsp;a.s., the biggest recent transaction on the Czech beer market.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík represented Indian pharmaceutical company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in concluding a deal via its Swiss subsidiary Glenmark Holding SA to acquire a majority shareholding in Medicamenta a.s., a company carrying out business activities in the production, sale and marketing of pharmaceutical products in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Press release: Prague, 9 May 2007 Kocián Šolc Balaštík has been named Czech Republic&rsquo;s Law Firm of the Year 2007 in the Who&rsquo;s Who Legal Awards. This is the second consecutive time the firm has been recognised in this way, having won the inaugural award last year. In addition, Kocián Šolc Balaštík was the first independent national firm to ever win the award.

Professor Jan Dědič, partner of Kocián Šolc Balaštík, is one of top five most influential lawyers in the Czech Republic, according a poll organised by Hospodářské noviny.

A jury of professionals chose Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) partner Professor <a href="./profil.php?id=2" title="Jan Dědič">Jan Dědič as 2006 Lawyer Of Year in commercial law from over 350 nominated lawyers competing in ten categories. KSB scored again in the second year of the competition organized by the Czech Bar Association and epravo.cz under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice. Last year KSB partner Jiří Balaštík won the 2005 Lawyer Of Year Award in real estate.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) became a member of the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI) as of January 2007. AFI represents a select group of entities with long-term experience of the Czech business environment and providing services in key areas for investment inflow and implementation thereof. AFI’s main focus is assisting foreign investment inflow to facilitate the entry of foreign investors on the Czech market, and the group cooperates with the government agency for business and investment support, CzechInvest.

The current six partners of Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB) elected Pavel Dejl and Václav Rovenský as new partners effective January&nbsp;1, 2007. Both attorneys have been with KSB for a long time and are respected lawyers in their field of expertise.

Decision by European Court of Justice in Case C-173/03 Traghetti del Mediterraneo SpA, in liquidation dated 13 June 2006.

Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC.

Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-66/02 Italian Republic v Commission of the European Communities dated 15 December 2005[2].

Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-408/03, Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium of 23 March 2006.