On 13 May, the 11th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum came to a close. The event was attended by public officials, Russian and foreign law enforcement officers, judicial authorities, advocates, representatives of international organisations, the business, expert and media communities. BGP Litigation Partners Victoria Dergunova, Anatoly Loginov and Tatyana Neveeva, and Senior Associate Anastasia Dudko participated in the work of the Forum.
BGP Litigation Partner Tatyana Neveeva spoke at two event sessions on the Forum’s key topics: sanctions and cross-border foreclosures. During the session “‘Friendly’ and ‘Unfriendly’ Jurisdictions: A New Taxonomy of Legal Systems”, Tatyana took part in discussing measures for protecting Russian assets frozen abroad, which should be developed by addressing international investment arbitration. The discussion included acting, in collaboration with Belgian and Luxembourg authorities, for Russian investors who acquired foreign securities through the National Settlement Depositary (NSD) (this year, BGP Litigation announced the first issue of a licence to unfreeze assets of a Russian investor). The discussion also touched on recognition and enforcement of court rulings and arbitration awards issued in Russia and unfriendly states. In addition, during the session “Cross-Border Foreclosures and Bankruptcies”, Tatyana took part in the discussion of the new challenges and approaches in this sphere.
At the conference SPB Legal Day organised by Pravo.ru as part of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Anatoly Loginov spoke on “New approaches of the highest judicial instances on economic crimes. Trends and Forecasts”. He talked about the new approaches by the Russian Supreme Court to criminal justice in relation to economic crimes, covered clarifications given by the Russian Supreme Court Plenum on bankruptcy, and highlighted Constitutional Court positions of significance to businesses.
Partner Victoria Dergunova spoke at the Forum session “A Children’s Code: Legal Fantasy or Genuine Necessity?” on “Will a Children’s Code help eliminate “grey” zones in the legislation, make school safer and childhood happier?” As part of this topic, Victoria told of the research being done into current problems in educational institutions, of the most frequently asked requests from parents and pupils for legal assistance, the bill for combating bullying and aggressive behaviour by children in school, as well as preventive strategies and effective responses to instances based on experience, the current legislation and judicial practice.
On the Forum opening day, young lawyers, public officials and representatives of the scientific and business communities of Russia and other countries came together at the International Youth Legal Forum. The first session was called “Fashion Law: Regulation of the Fashion and Creative Industries”, the speakers covering the problems faced by designers and people in the creative professions and industries. They also talked about the legal instruments available for protecting this area. At the session, BGP Litigation Senior Associate Anastasia Dudko, an IP expert, listed the four main aspects of protecting IP in the fashion industry: copyright, trade mark registration, patent law and trade secret (know-how) protection, and spoke about the specifics of their application.