Dmitry Kafanov: Saint-Petersburg Legal Forum has supported the foreign investor at the Far East

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By: Dmitry Kafanov
Source: Primamedia.ru

The Senior Partner of Inmar Legal Ltd., co-organizer of the Forum, gives his commentaries on the main trends accumulated by the prestigious event.

Vladivostok, the 24th of May, PrimaMedia. The Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum and its regional event that was held at the Far Eastern Federal University have shaped the  legal philosophy of the trade community on the problems of barriers removing for foreign investors that express interest in development of the Russian Far East –point by Dmitry Kafanov, the Senior Partner of Inmar Legal Ltd. (which has organized the Forum’s regional event). According to the judgement by the manager of the reputed legal firm, the participants of the prestigious event have established the primary legal steps that must be taken to promote the investment attractiveness of the Russian economy and to give effect to important infrastructure projects.

The VI Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum (18-21 of May) has drawn together over 3.6 thousand lawyers from 77 countries becoming one of the leading world’s platforms where global legal issues and tendencies are discussed. Concurrently with the event in Saint-Petersburg, this year Vladivostok for the first time has had a regional event of the Forum, which was organized by Inmar Legal Inc.

International Legal Forum’s Event at the Far Eastern Federal University. Picture: Credit to Inmar Legal Ltd.

Dmitry Kafanov, the Senior Partner of Inmar Legal Ltd., who was directly involved in the work of the Forum in Saint-Petersburg, has given his commentaries to RIA PrimaMedia on the subject matters and trends that were discussed at the Forum, as well as on its results, which are highly important for development of the Russian Far East.

“Indeed, today the Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum is not only the leading Russian working platform where representatives of international organizations, national and foreign government authorities, and leaders of the legal market can discuss the theoretical and applied legal issues of the day, but an international event of the utmost importance.

This year the main idea for the Forum, which was brought out by the chairman of the Government of Russia Dmitry Medvedev at the Plenary Session, was the concept of confidence in law, which is the primary way to solve global crises. In his speech the Russian Prime Minister stated the principal world legal tendencies, highlighted the ones that are of crucial importance for Russia, drew attention to the new challenges that the world legal community faces in the new economic and political conditions.
One of the peculiarities of the present Forum can include a particular attention to investments from our partners from Asian countries — especially from China, Republic of Korea and Japan — determination of those legal measures which should be implemented in order to increase investment attractiveness of the Russian economics and implement important infrastructural projects.

It is worth of note that almost all issues of the agenda of our regional event formed by us from the point of view of necessary legal arrangement to increase efficiency of investment processes were actively discussed at the Forum.

This is a necessity for new approaches in law enforcement when relevant government authorities should consider all nuances and peculiarities of a specific situation, as well as problems of the formation of dispute settlement mechanisms, in particular, investment disputes, which was pointed out to by Dmitry Medvedev in his speech.

These are problems of operation of new institutions of investment process, free port of Vladivostok and priority development areas, which were discussed within the session “Russia and China: right to investments”.

This is a necessity for the formation of efficient legal mechanisms for protection of foreign investors’ interests, including the elimination of shortcoming in the existing regulatory system, which was particularly noted within the session “Investment attractiveness of the Russian power engineering: national and legal regulation and international experience”.

Moreover, upon participation in many working sessions of the Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum I can safe say that our regional event in many regards kept ahead of the legal decisions discussed by out associates within the basic event in Saint-Petersburg.

Thus, for example,

Participants of the Forum in Vladivostok pointed out a number technical and legal shortcomings of the existing law on the free port of Vladivostok and priority development areas (PDA), which worsen the investor’s position in comparison with common principles and statutory provisions on foreign investments, discussed specific examples of “administrative barriers” in the area of migration registration of foreign workers, in the area of customs regulation.

In addition, at the regional event we rather keenly discussed a necessity of follow-up revision of legislative and subordinate legislations in the area of regulation of foreign investments in the Russian fishery complex, noted specific gaps in legal regulation of foreign investments in the Russia agriculture.

I can say that all such problems which we also brought up at the working sessions of the Forum in Petersburg and discussed during informal meetings with representatives of relevant government authorities, our associates from leading Russian law companies generated the keenest interest.

All suggestions and resolutions laid down at the regional event of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in Vladivostok will be referred to relevant agencies and organizations in order to work out legislative and law enforcement initiatives”,

— said Dmitry Kafanov, the Senior Partner of Inmar Legal Ltd.

For reference: International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg was established in 2011 and is the largest site for a dialog of politicians, lawyers, economists and scientists representing all basic economic and legal systems.

The Forum’s goal — to push the ideas of law modernization in conditions of global changes, including, to solve problems in the area of improvement of cooperation of legal systems and to work out common approaches to solving the problems of law development in the present world, to modernize the Russian law with due regard to the best experience of foreign policy-making and law enforcement, to promote the development of the present-day science of law and legal education in Russia and in the world.

The Forum’s basic subjects this year — private law, industry and trade, protection of competition, judicial and arbitration practice, smart society, investments and finances, international law and security. The subject of the plenary meeting — “Confidence in law — ways of resolution of world crises”.