Second
CIS Local Counsel Forum
Cultural differences
Western Europe / ex-UdSSR
Dr. Gabriel Lansky
Baku, 21.6.2007
Abstract
• Reasons for intercultural differences
• Examples of intercultural differences
• Impacts of intercultural differences on (legal)
advisory services
• Your partner for successful operations in exUdSSR as well as Western Europe
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Reasons for intercultural differences
• Different legal, economic and businessethical conditions due to the
– different history of Western Europe (below „WE“)
and ex-UdSSR and especially the
– former communist regimes in ex-UdSSR with
• a socialistic state-directed economy (WE: free
market economy);
• a clear power structure and strong authorities;
• a lack of stability of the law;
• sometimes venality and cronyism.
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Reasons for intercultural differences
• After the end of communism:
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period of economic „gold rush“;
fast and wide privatizations;
initially a lack of legal order;
in the course of time western legal standards were
implemented, but often not enforceable.
• WE places emphasis on different values (eg
partly restriction of competition in order to
strengthen environment and employee
protection as well als consumer rights).
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Abstract
• Reasons for intercultural differences
• Examples of intercultural differences
• Impacts of intercultural differences on (legal)
advisory services
• Your partner for successful operations in exUdSSR as well as Western Europe
5
Examples of intercultural differences
• People from ex-UdSSR show their personal
and financial power more publicly than
people from WE.
• Moreover, people from
– ex-UdSSR emphasize personal contact to their
contractual partner and mutual trust;
– WE tend to seperate professional and private
contact/spheres and, as to professional contact,
bank on the legally binding character of contracts.
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Examples of intercultural differences
• In WE, a sense of honor is less important
than in ex-UdSSR; hence people from
– WE tend to carry on tough and long negotiations
previous to signing a contract;
– ex-UdSSR sometimes close unfavorable contracts
in order to display their courage and power.
• On the contrary, vital importance of
autonomous media in WE, which has a big
influence on the public opinion making.
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Examples of intercultural differences
• During the performance of contract people
from
– WE set a high value on the correct abidance by
contract, since it is the outcome of negatiations
and should represent the intention of all parties;
– ex-UdSSR antagonize the virtual implementation
of unfavorable clauses, since they place less
emphasis on the binding character of written
contracts, but rather on personal confidence.
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Abstract
• Reasons for intercultural differences
• Examples of intercultural differences
• Impacts of intercultural differences on (legal)
advisory services
• Your partner for successful operations in exUdSSR as well as Western Europe
9
Impacts of intercultural differences on
(legal) advisory services
• Due to historical legal uncertainty selective
propagation of information to consultants in
ex-UdSSR in order not to become dependent;
even attorneys sometimes get to know only
parts of all facts of a case;
• The long history of justice in WE generated a
widespread doctrine and judicature, which
allows very differentiated argumentation;
sometimes these conflictive point of views are
difficult to understand for people from exUdSSR.
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Abstract
• Reasons for intercultural differences
• Examples of intercultural differences
• Impacts of intercultural differences
• Your partner for successful operations in exUdSSR as well as Western Europe
11
Lansky, Ganzger + partner
• Austrian law firm
• Headquarter in Vienna
Cooperation with partners worldwide
• USP: International structure on
the basis of a best-friends-system
and mother tongue service in all
necessary ex-UdSSR and CIS
countries
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65 employees in Austria
Fields of law
privatisation
corporate law, M & A
commercial law
law of contract
infrastructure and railroad law
capital market law
real estate
employment law
law of the European Union
environmental law
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bosnia
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republik
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Kazhakstan
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Macedonia
Netherlands
Poland
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Romania
Russia
Sweden
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Turkey
Ukraina
United Kingdom
USA
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Lansky, Ganzger + partner
• Member of Euro-Defi, one of the leading European
networks of independent legal and accounting
specialists with 300 member offices and 4000
professional staff throughout Europe.
• Modern, interdisciplinary service;
• global, international, multilingual;
• attendance of projects as managerial coordinators;
• network with tax- and business advice;
• lobbying in all ranks.
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Lansky, Ganzger + partner
• Sustantial experience with major projects in
ex-UdSSR, among others:
– Legal consultant of Casinos Austria International
Holding GmbH (activities eg in Croatia, Czech
Republik, Serbia, Romania, Hungary);
– Legal implementation of the selling process of
subsidiary companies of the Hypo Group Alpe
Adria in Croatia and Serbia (March 2007);
– Legal consultant of Vienna International Airport;
legal support of VIE, eg. in the implementation of
BOT-agreements in ex-UdSSR.
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Thank you for your attention!
Dr. Gabriel Lansky
Lansky, Ganzger + partner RA GmbH
1010 Vienna, Rotenturmstrasse 29/9
Austria
T: +43 1 533 33 30-13
F: +43 1 532 84 83
E: lansky@lansky.at
W: www.lansky.at
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Invest in Austria
Guide about various legal and
economic aspects of investing in
Austria developed by
Lansky, Ganzger + partner
Rechtsanwälte GmbH
in cooperation with
Austrian Business Agency.
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How to
Invest in Austria
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