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Ministry of Justice to Submit Civil Code Amendments to President on Schedule

23.01.2012 18:15 / gazeta.ru

The Ministry of Justice has prepared a consolidated draft of amendments to the Civil Code for the President on schedule, with the deadline on 1 February, said the Supreme Arbitration Court (SAC) Chairman Anton Ivanov.

“We had a meeting with the Codification Council on Friday. Together with MIFC Taskforce representatives we resolved the last moot points. Everything has been agreed. Two final issues remain open – but these decisions will be political: charter capital and offshore creation liability”, said Ivanov.

Dmitry Medvedev charged the Ministry of Justice with settling the Civil Code amendment debates last October, following a failed attempt to reach a compromise on corporate law issues between the President’s Codification Council and the Ministry for Economic Development, the business and the MIFC Taskforce.

The amendments initially included raising the charter capital limit by hundreds of times and disclose offshore beneficiaries. The Ministry for Economic Development pointed out that these measures will have a negative effect on the business climate.

The final version, says Ivanov, sets the charter capital for open joint stock companies at RUB 300k, and RUB 1m for closed joint stock companies, leaving room for ‘political maneuvers’: there is no set amount for a partnership.

“The law has effectively removed the ‘scope of business’ for partnerships. They were supposed to take part in innovations. However, it is impossible to clearly define ‘innovation’, and the final definition was ‘any scope’. It feels less restricted”, says the SAC Chairman.

Ivanov noted that a number of concerns from the business community and practicing lawyers found its way into the final draft.

“We seem to have come to a consensus. Let’s see how the bill turns out. We would like it to be introduced to the State Duma by the President”, Ivanov said.

Corporate and contract lawProject Group №2