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Judgment of ECJ in Case C-118/17 Zsuzsanna Dunai v ERSTE Bank Hungary Zrt. : The Hungarian legislation excluding the retroactive cancellation of a loan contract denominated in a foreign currency which includes an unfair term relating to the exchange-rate risk is contrary to EU law. The cancellation of the contract must be possible where it cannot continue to exist without the unfair term. In May 2007, Mrs Zsuzsanna Dunai concluded with ERSTE Bank Hungary, a bank incorporated under Hungarian law, a loan contract denominated in Swiss francs (CHF). Under the contract, the loan was to be advanced to the borrower in Hungarian florints (HUF) and the conversion of CHF into HUF was to be made by applying the CHF-HUF exchange-rate based on the buying rate practiced by the bank on the day of the provision of the loan. The contract provided in addition that the loan was to be repaid in HUF and that the amount of the repayments would be calculated on the basis of the CHF-HUF exchange-rate corre…

By George Kazoleas, Senior Associate Lawyer at Dionysiou & Partners LLC (Cyprus) The EU Regulations clarifying the rules applicable to property regimes for international married couples or registered partnerships apply from 29 January 2019. Τhese are the Regulations (EU) 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of matrimonial property regimes and (EU) 2016/1104 of 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of the property consequences of registered partnerships. The regulations establish clear rules in cases of divorce or death and bring an end to parallel and possibly conflicting proceedings in various Member States, for instance on property or bank accounts. In short, they bring more legal clarity for international couples[1]. As regards the jurisdicti…

By Dimitra Mousioli, Greek Family Lawyer and Mediator Dr Seuss, the famous writer gave us a very enlightening story of how people behave in a conflict. In that story he demonstrates how a stubborn "North-going Zax" and an equal stubborn "South-going Zax" were keep arguing of who would move away from the path so the other one would pass. Sitting firmly in their "position" the two angry Zax were leaving the life passing by without even noticing it. All their energy was focused on their opponent and their pride. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZmZzGxGpSs) That conflict mindset is quite familiar to me as a family mediator when parents first enter into a mediation process. And, despite their hostile attitude, my job is to help them resolve their conflicts in the most amicable way and try to move on with their lives outside the painful and costly court procedure. But is conflict necessarily a threat, where we always have to act with the primitive survival resp…

by Efi Thoma, Lawyer LL.M. Data is incontestably the new gold! In the new digital era, personal data of individuals is being collected, processed, and transferred around the globe from companies and organizations involved in this process, without the individuals’ prior knowledge and explicit consent. The companies and organizations that collect and use such data, have a competitive advantage and strengthen their market position by analyzing this data. Data may be even sold to third parties worldwide, without neither the prior knowledge of the individuals concerned, nor their “unambiguous” consent. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) constitutes a huge breakthrough in privacy laws, leading to a drastic transformation of the privacy landscape on a global scale. It is not just the GDPR large fines in cases of breaches or serious non-compliance that make the difference, it is the new culture of awareness that is being established regarding personal, and namely sensitive data…