The contact restrictions introduced to contain the coronavirus pandemic have led to considerable upheavals in legal practice in many European Union countries. In particular for the areas of forensic activity and the creation of notarial documents, the irrevocable principle of attendance in person has continued to apply practically without restriction disregarding the progress in communication made possible by progressing digitalisation - whether it is to be able to get a personal picture of the parties (court proceedings), whether it is to confirm the personal identity of the persons appearing without doubt (notarial documents).

Until now, foreign companies operating in Spain through a permanent establishment were obliged to appoint a tax representative resident in Spanish territory for the purposes of Non-Resident Income Tax (NRIT). Law 11/2021, of 9 July, on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, which came into force on 11th July 2021, has removed this obligation for companies resident in the European Union or in a European Economic Area country with which mutual assistance regulations exist.

In keeping with our good and longstanding cooperation with the University of Warsaw, Schindhelm has given a lecture on the topic of “Energy market liberalization between the EU and China” in the conference “Between China and Europe - Energy for Future Earth” organized and hosted by Warsaw-Beijing-Forum on April 11th, 2021.

As of 1 April 2021 Kancelaria Prawna Schampera, Dubis, Zając i Wspólnicy was transformed into a general partnership (pl. spółka jawna).

Therefore, as of 1 April 2021, the partnership operates under the name Kancelaria Prawna Schampera, Dubis, Zając i Wspólnicy sp. j.

In Hungary, a comprehensive digitalisation of court proceedings began in 2017, which enables the parties to communicate electronically with the courts and submit their pleadings electronically to the courts. In addition, electronic means are increasingly being used to conduct hearings. For example, digital communication channels have been introduced nationwide, video and audio transmission enabled in the courtroom, as well as the use of speech recognition and transcription software heavily promoted.

Since the Turkish courts have postponed court hearings completely over a longer period of time, and in order to keep the judicial system capable of action during the Covid-19-Pandemic, the possibility of digital court proceedings has been introduced so that court hearings can now take place by videoconference. Digital court hearings are permissible in all court proceedings in civil matters. This also includes proceedings before the commercial, family and enforcement courts. Notarial records can also be carried out digitally if the client has a qualified electronic signature.