Metaverse emerges as an "other universe" that invites the masses to live, interact, and trade in it. The parts of this universe are virtual reality, the internet, and advanced technologies. Users are no longer in front of the screen, they can enter this world in person. This can be possible in two ways for now; This world we call avatar requires a digital twin and virtual reality glasses. Users may think that they are chatting with their avatars, but can they feel like they are drinking coffee in a real environment? Are the two similar things?

Waste transports with a total quantity of more than 10 tonnes must be carried out by rail or other means of transport with equivalent or lower pollutant or greenhouse gas potential (e.g. propulsion by means of fuel cell or electric motor). The decisive factor is the transport distance covered in Austria, which will gradually decrease. From 1 January 2023, this obligation applies to a transport distance of 300 km or more; from 1 January 2024, the distance will be only 200 km.

The most prestigious Hungarian permanent arbitration body, the Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCAC) revised its rules of proceedings with effect from 2023. Will the revised rules increase the speed and efficiency of arbitral proceedings in front of the HCAC, or it is just a facelift of the former regime?

If you need statistical data maintained by the National Health Information System for your work or scientific research, whether demographic data on births or deaths, statistics on cancer patients, information on assisted reproduction or other information, you will be interested in a landmark decision of the Constitutional Court.

The Hungarian Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (NAIH) recently fined a market-leading Hungarian media service provider HUF 10 million (approx. €25,000) for failing to comply with the data processing principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency in its cookie management solution based on the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe's Transparency and Consent (TCF) Framework. This is the first time that the Hungarian authority has imposed a fine for cookie management issues and made it public.

The issue of how to ensure the longevity of family businesses remains as topical all over the world as it is in Turkey. When we look at the statistics, we see that family businesses have an extremely high percentage in Turkey as well as all over the world.

The IT industry in Ukraine remains one of the key drivers of the Ukrainian economy even despite the market turmoil in the times of war. Alongside this, the constant development of technology and the need to honour obligations and commitments to implement EU law in terms of copyright and related rights requires certain amendments to the current Ukrainian legislation.

Do you sell goods to consumers through ane-shop? Do you feel like you already know everything there is to know about the great consumer amendment from all the different articles? While it's true that plenty has been written about the end of fake reviews and discounts, the legal guarantee or the specific labelling of the "order with obligation to pay" button, this is much more than a "button amendment". What affect will it have, for example, on personalising the price for a particular consumer?

In December, the European Commission (“Commission”) issued a Statement of Objections (“SO”) to Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. The Commission said that based on its preliminary view, Facebook had violated EU antitrust rules by distorting competition for online display advertising on social media linked to Facebook Marketplace.

Since 2020, EU Member States have been obliged to make specific information on ultimate beneficial owners (“UBOs”) of corporate and other legal entities available to the general public. However, in light of the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of European Union (“CJEU”), this obligation will not remain in effect and thus, changes to the accessibility of the Hungarian UBO register are to be expected.

New thresholds triggering independent audit requirements for Turkish companies became applicable as of 1 January 2023. Below is a general overview of the applicable criteria.

In recent months, we have seen several regulatory initiatives impacting the Czech online business environment. There is a lot to unpack, which is why we have prepared a series of Legal Insights to help you understand what will change in 2023.

The Capital Markets Board ("CMB") updated some amounts subject to revaluation within the scope of capital markets legislation for the year 2023 with the Capital Markets Board Bulletin dated 30/12/2022 and numbered 2022/74 published pursuant to its decision dated 29/12/2022 and numbered 77/1900.

On 14 December 2022 the lower house, Sejm, passed a bill on family foundations. The law was then sent to the Senate, where amendments were made to it, now pending before the Sejm. Regardless of these legislative works, it is expected that the law will come into force 3 months after its promulgation. It should therefore be possible to establish a family foundation as early as the first half of 2023. 

In a recent case (C-61/21), contrary to settled case-law, the Court of Justice of the European Union did not oblige a Member State to pay compensation. Article 13 of the 2008/50/EC Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe obliges Member States to ensure that ambient air levels of NO2 and PM10 do not exceed EU-wide limit values. A resident in the Paris region considered that the French State had failed to ensure this and by this he has suffered damage to his health since 2003, caused by the deterioration of the ambient air quality in the Paris agglomeration. For these damages, he has claimed a total of EUR 21 million from the French State as compensation.

Spanish authority for personal data protection recently passed a decision rejecting one of 101 appeals filed by NOYB, privacy activist organisation, against 101 European company for using Google Analytics.

In the 25 January 2023 final decision in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. russia, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) declared the complaints partly admissibile. The Grand Chamber will now decide the case on the merits.

The rapid developments in the world of technology put the law into a difficult concept puzzle to follow. While the discussions on smart contracts made with blockchain technology have not yet ended, a new organization that can direct the life of business has taken its place in the international market; Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). This mechanism offers people new democratized ways to operate their organizations, radically separated traditional institutions.