- Latvia bristles against the Istanbul Convention combating violence against women
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, an autonomous body of the European Union based in Vilnius, 39 per cent of women in Latvia have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15, some 6 per cent higher than the EU average.
- Lobbying for copyright protection
The ordinary packaging of DVDs for rent in a downtown Riga video shop does not betray its curious contents.
- Imminent VAT changes for EU accession states
From May 1, 2004, the operations of most companies in the new EU member states will be dealing with goods in free circulation within the EU as well as non-EU goods.
- Pondering effective international tax structures
The search for effective tax structures in international companies has, and will have, more importance as businesses stress the need for effective coordination advantages in an international environment, as when entering the Baltic markets.
- The devil is in Lithuania’s ‘detail plans’
All small countries know that there is no asset more inherently precious than land, and any talk of buying and selling it freely is bound to raise heated discussions.
- Entrepreneurs anxious about startup requirements
Now that Latvia’s EU’s fate has been sealed, business people, particularly small business owners, are expressing concern about possible changes in the Latvian commercial law and new legal requirements for starting a business.
- Accidental death is cheap liability in Latvia
A horrendous explosion at a gas-canister exchange point at Riga’s Central Market on July 22 left five dead and six people seriously injured.
- Child legislation making considerable progress
Many people have never stopped to think about it, but after independece was won back in 1991, the lives of Baltic children took a turn for the worse.
- Putting up obstacles to easy land purchases
Estonia managed to negotiate a seven-year transition period on the sale of agricultural land to foreigners, a move lobbied for by interest groups concerned about the loss of arable land to deep-pocketed Westerners.
- Large purchases under watch
Any purchase of an item worth over 10,000 litas (2,800 euros) will now have to be reported by the seller to the Lithuanian State Tax Inspectorate under a draft tax administration law.
- Latvia state needs better advocates
Latvia has developed a new concept for improved representation in major commercial disputes and at international courts of arbitration, the Justice Ministry stated last month.
- U.S. support for Latvian courts
U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Brian E. Carlson and Latvian Justice Minister Aivars Aksenoks signed an agreement in Riga in early September to provide funding for a number of justice-related projects.
- Minister: lawyers too expensive
Before resigning, Estonia’s Minister of Finance Tonis Palts claimed that the Tax Board has been paying exorbitant fees for lawyers that it contracted for court cases.
- Last-minute legal fine-tuning
Representatives of the European Commission acquainted Latvian officials last week with objections on Latvia’s implementation of EU legislation, according to Andris Kesteris, the country’s chief ambassador to the EU.
- Latvia’s insolvency law awaits changes
It’s one of the oldest examples of fraud in the books. Pin down a lucrative enterprise, lend it some cash and, once times get tough, take it to bankruptcy court.
- LITHUANIA: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The new Law on Trademarks is effective Jan. 1, 2001.
- LITHUANIA: CONSUMER PROTECTION
A new version of the law on Consumer Protection was adopted by the Parliament Sept. 19, 2000.
- LITHUANIA: TAX LAW
The new Law on Levies, effective Jan. 1, 2001, sets forth an order for calculating, collecting and controlling the collection of state and municipal levies.
- LITHUANIA: COMPANY LAW
The new version of the Company Law, effective Jan. 1, 2001, establishes a new procedure for the establishment, reorganization, liquidation, management and activities of public and private companies.
- LATVIA: LANGUAGE LAW
Regulations on the Naming of Places, Institutions, Social Organizations, Businesses and Events and the Use of such Names took effect Sept. 1, 2000.
