Category: Latvia

Cobalt has filed an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of the Association of LGBT and Their Friends Mozaika in the Constitutional Court of Latvia in a case regarding the state fee applicable to testator’s same-sex partner.

According to Cobalt, “the Constitutional Court ruled that Clause 13 of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 1250, insofar as it is applicable to a same-sex partner of the deceased, who compromised (sic) family, does not conform with Article 110 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and is void as of 1 June 2022.”

According to Cobalt, “the Constitutional Court found that in accordance with the applicable regulatory enactments the State legally ‘does not see’ existing same-sex families, because they have not been granted [the] opportunity to legally establish their family relationship. Therefore, the existing system of family protection and support in Latvia, which among other things includes the contested norm, does not protect the families of same-sex partners, legally, economically, or socially. Thus, the Constitutional Court concluded that the contested norm insofar as it is applicable to the same-sex partner of a deceased person, with whom family ties were established, does not conform with Article 110 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution.”

Cobalt’s team included Managing Partner Lauris Liepa and Associate Gabriela Santare.

On February 26, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Eversheds Sutherland had advised Valmieras Stikla Skiedra on the sale of 83.14% of the share capital from the company’s controlling shareholder group to Duke I S.a.r.l. CEEIHM spoke with Ilze Saviele, Legal Counsel at VSS, to learn more about the sale. 

CEEIHM: Can you tell us a bit about VSS?

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

According to Ivars Grunte, Managing Partner at TGS Baltic in Riga, Latvia’s legal sector is getting a legislative overhaul. In addition, Grunte reports that Latvia’s judicial system will be strengthened through the addition of the Economic Affairs Court.

Grunte reports that recent amendments to Latvia’s Advocacy Law have changed the way law firms can operate in the country. “From now on, all law firms must be registered as legal entities – either a limited liability company or a partnership,” he says, adding that his firm will most likely opt for the former. In addition, he says, until now, both law firms and advocates have been obligated to register with the Bar association – but going forward law firms will instead have to register with Latvia’s Register of Enterprises. However, Grunte explains that the Bar association will still have to vet the documents before the law firms submit them to the register.

“Traditionally, lawyers had been perceived as providers of intellectual services, but the profession’s commercial aspect has grown to the point where it couldn’t be ignored,” he says. As a result, Grunte says, the amendments stipulate that each law firm has to have registered partners (only advocates) among which the firm’s equity is divided. According to Grunte, this approach will bring about more transparency, while also increasing the tax and administrative burden for firms. “Since all the people working at a firm, save for Bar-registered lawyers, are now considered its employees, the taxes each firm has to pay will increase.”

On the subject of the new Economic Affair Court, Grunte says that 95 people put themselves forward as candidates for judges. “It is interesting that out of the ten selected applicants, none previously held the title of a judge,” he says. The court, which is expected to begin operating on March 31, 2021, will handle more significant civil cases, such as commercial, foreign investment disputes. “The court will also adjudicate criminal cases tied to serious crimes affecting business environment — things like money laundering and corruption,” he says.

In Grunte’s opinion, the new court will most likely speed up the disposition of disputes and will send a positive signal to foreign investors. “The new court is expected to be more efficient and faster in reaching decisions, which will greatly speed up the process of settling commercial disputes,” he says, explaining that, as a result, foreign investors will feel that their rights are better protected, which might attract them to the country.

Grunte notes that, for the most part, the economic situation in Latvia is not as bad as expected under Covid-19. “Our GDP dropped by 4.5% last year and our unemployment rate hovered around 8%,” he says, noting that Latvia’s GDP is expected to increase by 2.8% in 2021. He reports that certain industries, such as real estate and construction, have been booming lately, and he points in particular to Moller’s recent acquisition of a 2,300-hectare land plot near the Riga International Airport (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 28, 2020), which his firm worked on, as a prime example. 

The Latvian office of Cobalt, working alongside Clifford Chance, has advised joint lead managers Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole CIB on the issue of a ten-year EUR 1.250 billion Eurobond by the Republic of Latvia, setting a yield at 0.105% and a coupon of 0.000%. Allen & Overy reportedly advised the Republic of Latvia on the issuance.

According to the Treasury of the Republic of Latvia, the transaction sets several records, including being the lowest-ever long-term borrowing yield reached, and with the historically lowest long-term and the lowest coupon achieved by the Republic of Latvia in its Eurobond transactions.

According to Cobalt, “Eurobond offering was allocated to European investors, mainly asset managers and banks from Germany, France and the United Kingdom.”

Cobalt’s team was led by Specialist Counsel Edgars Lodzins.

The Latvian office of TGS Baltic has announced that its Personal Data Protection and Privacy practice will be co-headed by Partner Sandis Petrovics and Associate Arina Stivrina.

Petrovics’s areas of expertise include dispute resolution, public procurement, corporate & commercial, and real estate. He began his career in law in 1995 at the Egils Radzins law office, where he spent the following six years. He joined Triniti in 2003, and in 2019 moved from there to TGS Baltic. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Latvia in 1995. 

Stivrina specializes in data protection, cyber security, and IT law. She was Key Account Manager at DPD Latvija from 2011 and 2013. She spent the following four years at Lindorff’s Latvian branch. Finally, before joining TGS Baltic in 2019, she also spent two years at the Triniti law firm. In addition to the Master of Business Administration she obtained at the Riga Business School, Stivrina also received a Master of Laws from the University of Latvia and a Master of Arts in Information Technology Law from the Tartu University.

Sorainen Latvia has advised US-based video game developer and publisher TinyBuild on the admission of its shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Sorainen’s team consisted of Managing Partner Eva Berlaus and Senior Associates Natalija Sestakova and Zanda Frisfelde.

Vilgerts has successfully represented the interests of Balcia in defending its trademark to the European Union Intellectual Property Office against a claim that it was similar to that of another company.

According to Vilgerts, “earlier this year, a decision of the EUIPO came into force, holding there is no likelihood of any confusion between the trademarks Balta and Balcia, thus rejecting AAS Balta’s opposition to the registration of trademark Balcia in the European Union. The dispute in question was initiated at the EUIPO, with Balta opposing the registration of word and graphical trademarks Balcia. Balta claimed the trademark Balcia as well as goods and services covered by the trademark are similar to its earlier trademarks BALTA, registered in Latvia and the EU. Balta further claimed its trademark has a reputation in the EU and thus favors broader protection under the Regulation on the European Union trade mark.” According to the firm, “the EUIPO ruled, although the covered services and the targeted public are identical for both marks, the similarity of the trademarks visually and aurally is low. The EUIPO underlined, conceptually, that the signs are not similar.”

Vilgerts’s team included Partner Brigita Terauda and Associate Kaline Ozola.

The Latvian office of Sorainen has advised Cesu Alus, the largest and oldest brewery in Latvia that is part of the Olvi Group, Finland’s third largest brewery, on the acquisition of Piebalgas Alus. The completion of the acquisition is subject to approval by the Latvian Competition Council.

According to Sorainen, “the acquisition by Cesu Alus will allow the widening of Piebalgas Alus’s distribution network and continue its development in brewing unique beer varieties in the traditional and craft beer segments. The acquisition will also contribute to the further economic growth of the Vidzeme region.”

Sorainen’s team included Country Managing Partner Eva Berlaus, Partner Ieva Andersone, Senior Associate Linda Reneslace, and Associate Liva Aleksejeva.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Cobalt has advised Austrian railway and infrastructure constructor Swietelsky AG on winning a EUR 237 million contract to build the Rail Baltica station and related infrastructure at the Riga International Airport. The contract was awarded in a public procurement procedure by Eiropas Dzelzcela linijas SIA, the implementing body of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia.

According to Cobalt, Swietelsky AG participated in the tender as a part of a consortium that also included Latvia’s Binders SIA and LNK Industries AS. According to the firm, the project includes the construction of a three-level station building, overpass structures, and access roads with related infrastructure, as well as railway tracks. The project is designed to connect the Riga Central Station to the airport via Rail Baltica’ high-speed and shuttle trains. The project will be carried out in five stages and is expected to finish by December 2025.

Cobalt’s team included Managing Partner Dace Silava-Tomsone, Partner Sandija Novicka, and Associate Arturs Valdersteins.

Vilgerts has successfully represented the interests of Rigas Piena Kombinats, which operates under the Food Union brand, in a dispute over the trademark for a specific tone of orange used for its curd snacks product.

According to Vilgerts, the Riga Regional Court handed down its judgment in favor of Food Union on March 10, 2021. According to the firm, “in 2017, Food Union applied for trademark registration in Latvia – the orange color used for the well-known Karums products. Tukuma Piens and Preilu Siers objected to this registration and brought an action in court, arguing that the trademark lacked distinctive character because it was used by many dairy producers and the exclusive right to use this color could not be granted to only one company. The first instance court upheld the action and declared the registration of the mark invalid. However, the appellate court ruled to the contrary and acknowledged the trademark, as a result of its use has acquired a distinctive character in the perception of Latvian consumers in relation to product curd snacks.” 

According to the firm, in its judgment the Court emphasized that the orange color trademark had been used for a long time and intensively in the Latvian market in connection with Karums products and had gained a high level of recognition among consumers and brand specialists. According to the firm, “as a result of the Court’s judgment, Food Union has managed to protect the registration of its color trademark, which grants it the exclusive right to use this color in Latvia in relation to curd snacks products.”

Vilgerts’s team was led by Partner Brigita Terauda and included Senior Partner Ineta Krodere and Associate Kaline Ozola.