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ESTATE DISPUTES: Some important judgments from last month

Currency repatriation requirements were extended on 14 April to cover loans issued by Russian residents to foreign borrowers, reducing the opportunities for businesses to shift funds abroad through non-repayable loans.

INTERNATIONAL - The risk factors Guidelines

Notaries and business

SUCCESSIONE-Vincita lotteria

Since 12 September 2002, the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato has been registered in the public list of certifiers of digital signatures held by AIPA, as the certification authority for Italian notaries. The digital signatures of Italian notaries may be verified on the site http://ca.notariato.it. Based on the rules and the certification authority's operations manual, CNN certifies notaries' digital signatures in the exercise of their functions and so guarantees to third parties not only

A company has a life of its own which is independent from that of its partners: it will go on living even after its partners die or it can be dissolved and wound up even if its partners are alive.All companies have a legal status and as such they have assets that are distinct from those of the partners that constitute the company. They have a name, a registered office and, hence are legal entities that are quite distinct from the individuals making up the company.They are non-personified col

If the parties wish to set up an general partnership, they must respect the specific rules laid down in this regard by the Civil Code, bearing in mind, in any case that, for many aspects, the law refers the reader to the provisions regulating informal partnerships, which consequently apply equally to general partnerships. So that, in the light the foregoing, the present file foresees multiple referrals to the subjects already dealt with and developed with regard to the informal partners

A foreigner may make a will, i.e. indicate in an official document to whom he intends leaving his property after his death. A foreigner also may give away assets during his lifetime.

Any change, even only a purely formal change, in the clauses of the by-laws of a company is considered to be an amendment to the by-laws.  As a rule this competence belongs to the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the relevant decision must be written in the minutes by a notary public and then registered with the Register of Companies.The decision must be taken by a majority vote, any clause in the bylaws setting forth that unanimity is required to change the Memorandum of Association

In early 2003 the Italian legislator issued a law decree (n° 6 of 17 January 2003) which thoroughly reformed companies limited by shares.  The declared aim was to simplify, where appropriate, and enrich, wherever possible, the rules governing such companies, with a view to increasing their competitiveness on both domestic and international markets.Many changes were made and the following results have been achieved:  a better, though still not complete, co-ordination between the rules governi

The rules applying to limited partnerships are similar in many respects to those that apply to informal partnerships (please refer to the related paragraph).In addition, as regards subjective changes arising from the transfer of a partner’s capital share, a distinction needs to be made between the unlimited partner’s share and that of the limited partner.If one of the unlimited partners decides to transfer his/her capital share he may undoubtedly do so through a conveyance deed; however, unl

Limited partnerships with share capital is a modified form of a company with share capital in which permanent directors manage the company who have unlimited liability, also contingent liability, for  social security liabilities. The provisions that are specific for this type of company are reduced to a few which concern above all the management of the company by the unlimited partners.    The peculiar characteristic of this type of company consists in the co-existence of two different group

In general partnerships too it may happen that, in the course of the company’s existence, the partners may wish to amend the partnership deed.Unless otherwise agreed, such changes must be adopted unanimously (except for when the company is turned into a company with share capital, or when mergers or demergers are carried out),  and must be written in a public deed or in an authenticated private contract, just like the partnership deed, since the law prescribes that also these amendments must

Amendments to the Memorandum of Association must be approved not only by the extraordinary meeting but also by all the unlimited partners. The advice of the notary public may be useful in deciding on issues related to this mode of approval. For all other aspects, please refer to the joint-stock companies (please refer to the related paragraph).

Once upon a time it was enough to say that a foreigner was someone who was not an Italian citizen. This definition – to be clear – is still valid. Except that Article 17 of the EC Treaty institutes a citizenship of the European Union which is attributed to anyone who is a citizen of a Member State. Belonging to the European Union brings with it various consequences, some of which are very important, like the prohibition on

Let us take the case in which the Parties decide to undertake an entrepreneurial activity by setting up  a partnership.What would the general characteristics of such a company be?First of all, as regards the unlimited and joint liability of the partners:- in the case of a general partnership, all the partners have unlimited and joint liability;- in the case of an informal partnership, all the partners have unlimited and joint liability, but there can be an agreement whereby the partners who

Duration is not an essential element for the establishment of partnerships. The parties may also expressly agree on indefinite duration.When a date of termination is envisaged, then on that date the company can be dissolved.The termination date may be modified or eliminated by the partners via:- express extension. In this case all the partners expressly decide on a new date of termination or on continuing the company’s life indefinitely;- tacit extension. If, after the date of termination th

The corporate assets are the company’s assets and liabilities.  Initially they are made up of the contributions offered or promised by the partners.  During its life-time the corporate assets undergo changes depending on the business activities carried out. The assets and liabilities are audited regularly through the drawing up of the annual balance sheet.The net worth is the positive difference between assets and liabilities.The corporate assets also have the function of providing the compa

If for any reason a partner no longer wishes to belong to the company, he may exercise the right of withdrawal.In particular, if the company was set up for an indefinite period of time or for the lifetime of one of the partners, each partner may withdraw freely.Otherwise, if the company is for a definite period of time, withdrawal is admitted by law only in the case of a just cause.The partnership contract may in any case envisage other circumstances in which a partner may withdraw, specifyi

In  share capital companies the financial autonomy is perfect in that the shareholders are accountable for the debts of the company only in proportion to the share they hold.This means:- that the personal creditors of a shareholder can never receive payment from the company;- that creditors of the company, in turn, can never expect the members to use their personal assets to pay for the company’s debts.The financial circumstances of the shareholder of a company with share capital will never

Contributions are the assets that the partners are obliged to provide under the partnership deed.In other terms, the contributions are the resources that the partners contribute to create the initial assets of the company.It is their function to provide the company with the initial capital required to carry out the company’s activity.Through the contribution each partner allocates a part of his personal assets to the common activity throughout the lifetime of the company and takes on the ent

In order to do business often huge investments are required and often a single person may not have that amount of financial means. Doing business through a company enables several people to invest and work together so that each individual may then enjoy the benefits of the activity carried out proportionately to the amount of work done and to the quota of investments made.A participation (share or quota) of the capital of the company is assigned to the partner in return for the assets he has

The share capital is a numerical entity that expresses the value of the contributions in monetary terms, as indicated by the valuation expressed in the Memorandum of Association.A share capital of 100 means that the partners have committed to contributing (underwritten capital) and/or have contributed (fully paid-up capital) money or other entities which at the time of the signing of the partnership deed, were attributed that given monetary value.The share capital remains unchanged throughou

Throughout the life of the company the partners may modify the partnership contract but this requires a unanimous vote, unless otherwise agreed and except for the case in which the company were to be turned into a  stock company, for mergers and spin offs, in which cases (unless otherwise decided in the shareholders’ agreement on which you should be advised by your notary) a simple majority is required by law.  The majority is established on the basis of the share of profits attributed to ea

Individuals who set up a company do so because they want to carry out a given economic activity together with other individuals.  This activity is the corporate purpose and must be indicated in the Memorandum of Association.  It may be changed during the life-time of the company only in accordance with the amendment rules envisaged in the Memorandum of Association.The activity must be a productive activity, i.e. a business aimed at producing or trading goods or providing services, while it c