News

On May 28, 2010 the conference “Regional Trade Agreements: Fragmentation of International Trade Law” took place in the premises of the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Volkov Koziakov and Partners’ Counsel Viktoriia Kotsiubska participated in the conference which finalized the half-yearly research of the scholars and Elsa Moot Court on WTO Law participants on this subject. Ms. Kotsiubska delivered a speech on Regional Trade Agreements between CIS members and perspectives of free trade area between Ukraine and EU. Among other participants of the conference are such well-known scholars as Ms. Laura Nielsen (University of Copenhagen), Hannes Schloemann (WTI Advisors), Viktoria Donaldson (WTO Secretariat), Yasuhei Taniguchi (former WTO AB Member), Christian Häberli (World Trade Institute).

On June 4, 2010, the 4th annual ceremony of “2010 Law Awad” took place. It was arranged by the Yridichaeskaya Praktika edition. During the ceremony leaders in different areas of Ukrainian legal services market got their awards.
Mykola Podpalov, a partner of Volkov Koziakov and Partners, got the Best Lawyer of Ukraine in competition law area. The Nominating Commission made a decision on this award due to outstanding professional services of Mr. Podpalov in competition law area. Thus, lately the lawyers of Volkov Koziakov and Partners guided by Mr. Podpalov have had a gross success while representing the interests of their clients in the AMCU in cases that are extremely complicated and mostly unprecedented for Ukraine.
Mykola Podpalov works as a lawyer for over 20 years now and is famous within the bar for his highest standard of competence, honesty, diligence, and modesty.

During the 4th annual ceremony of “2010 Law Awad” held on June 4, 2010, and arranged by the Yridichaeskaya Praktika edition, senior partner of Volkov Koziakov and Partners Sergii Koziakov was presented a special award of chief editor of the Yuridicheskaya Praktika Iuriy Zabara - For Outstanding Professional Services.
Mr. Koziakov majors in the International Trade Law, International Arbitration and Competition Law. Due to results of annual research held Yridichaeskaya Praktika publishing company within the Ukrainian Law Firm project Sergii Koziakov has been acknowledged the Best Lawyer of Ukraine in the International Trade area.

Senior Partner of Volkov Koziakov & Partners Sergii Koziakov has attended the All-Ukrainian Forum of the pharmaceutical market players - Ukrpharma 2010 - held on June 2-3 in Kyiv. The Forum’s arrangers have devoted great care to legal issues in the pharma-business, and, thus, invited a number of representatives of outstanding Ukrainian law firms operating in pharmaceutical field.
Sergii Koziakov has represented Volkov Koziakov & Partners and addressed with a report on actuality and prospects of the competition protection in the domestic pharmaceutical market and also acted as a moderator of the session – “Advertising in the pharmaceutical market: peculiarities, challenges and opportunities”.
The invitation of Sergii Koziakov as a moderator and reporter was not incidental as for the last year Volkov Koziakov & Partners has successfully served many pharmaceutical companies and managed to draft and introduce a number of new solutions for the Ukrainian market in the sphere of protection against unfair competition and misleading advertising.

Lawyers of the Litigation Department from Volkov Koziakov and Partners successfully completed representation of DID Kons, LLC’s interests before the High Economic Court of Ukraine.
The courts of Ukraine have considered DID Kons, LLC’s lawsuit against Dniprodzerzhynsk Teploelektrotsentral, OJSC on collection of debts on bills for a long time.
Pursuant to the decision, which was upheld by the Dnipropetrovsk Economic Court of Appeal, the Economic Court of Dnipropetrovsk region satisfied the DID Kons’s claim.
Opposing party’s appeal to the High Economic Court of Ukraine against decisions of the previous institutions was grounded on the Dniprodzerzhynsk Teploelektrotsentral, OJSC’s disagreement with the possibility to apply general provision of the civil law to legal relations based on bills.
In the High Economic Court of Ukraine lawyers from Volkov Koziakov and Partners successfully proved reasonableness of the interest accrual on the debt on bills in the amount of NBU’s discount rate based on provisions of clause 2 of Article 48 of the Unified Law on Drafts and Promissory Notes, as well as 3 percent of annual interest and inflation losses based on part 2 of Article 625 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
Generally, DID Kons, LLC was adjudged through the court  a compensation in the amount of UAH 40,097,12.33 that includes the most debt  of UAH 19,000,000.00, and UAH 1,791,986.30 as an interest in the amount of NBU’s discount rate, 3 percent of annual interest amounting to UAH 3,463,726.03, and inflation losses of UAH 16 454 000,00.
Lawyers of the Litigation Department, a Partner Ihor Martsyn and Senior Associate Olga Galaka defended DID Kons, LLC’s interests.

Senior partner of Volkov Koziakov and Partners Sergii Koziakov and an associate Anna Gladshtein has held a meeting with a partner of popular European law firm FratiniVergano, attorney at law Paolo Vergano. Serhiy Nerpiy, CEO of Interconsult Ukraine, LLC has also been present at the meeting. During the meeting the prospects of the Free-Trade Agreement between the EU and Ukraine and the role of lawyers’, while advising the governments has been discussed. Another point for discussion appeared to be implementation of joint projects of Volkov Koziakov and Partners and FratiniVergano.
Mr. Vergano is an international expert in WTO and EU Law, and a partner of the law firm FratiniVergano. Currently, he is consulting the Ukrainian executive authorities on issues of creation of the free trade area between the EU and Ukraine.

Volkov Koziakov & Partners goes ahead with WTO practice, WTO Law, and anti-dumping and safeguard investigations.
In May the firm’s lawyers embarked on the project, presenting the interests of Korean exporter and producer of refrigerators - Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd - in the safeguard investigation concerning imports to Ukraine of refrigerating and freezing appliances regardless the country of origin and export.
The month before, in April, the Volkov Koziakov & Partners’s client base enriched with another client – the largest Korean producer and exporter of ferroalloys - Dongbu Metal Co., Ltd., which a party in the safeguard investigation concerning imports to Ukraine of ferroalloys regardless the country of origin and export.
The Projects are managed by Senior Partner Sergii Koziakov, awarded as the best Ukrainian expert in WTO trade (market research “Ukrainian Law Firm 2010”), and Counsel Viktoriia Kotsiubska.
Furthermore, Volkov Koziakov & Partners lawyers continue presenting interests of American and Brazilian Association of producers and exporters, including major companies-producers of poultry meat originating in the USA and Brazil, in the anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of their products to Ukraine.

Lawyers of Volkov Koziakov & Partners have trained a team from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The team is preparing to participate in the Final Oral Round of ELSA WTO Moot Court Competition. The event to be held on 24-30 May in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2009, students from 61 law schools worldwide participated in this competition. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv team has an excellent record in the moot, winning the National Round and coming in third place in the European Regional Round in Leuven, Belgium.

A senior partner of Volkov Koziakov and Partners, Sergii Koziakov has participated in the Annual Summer Conference of TAGLaw International Law Network, connecting over 100 law firms all over the world.
During the Conference in Amsterdam, on May 9-13, participants discussed the latest trends of the global legal market development. The second part of the meeting was mostly devoted to the number of such practices as corporate law, taxation, and competition regulation.

Volkov Koziakov & Partners successfully represented interests of one of the largest Ukrainian producers of pharmaceuticals - OJSC “Farmak” – in the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the AMCU).
The company applied to the AMCU with the claim for the dissemination by pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis of misleading information regarding antithrombus medicine “Flenox” produced by OJSC “Farmak”.
Last Thursday the AMCU decided to recognize the Sanofi-Aventis’s actions as a violation of the Law On Protection Against Unfair Competition and fined the company UAH 200 000.
The project was managed by Partners of Volkov Koziakov & Partners - Sergii Koziakov and Mykola Podpalov.