Legal update for diplomatic missions in Russia
Russia has joined the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications
Russia has joined the Geneva act by signing the respective Federal law. This will simplify the mechanism for obtaining the protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications when the owner of such objects submits applications for their registration in various countries of the world. It will be possible for Russian individuals to obtain protection for appellations of origin and geographical indications simultaneously in several states by submitting one application through the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and paying a fee.
The law will enter into force on 31 December 2022.
Federal Law No. 450-FZ "On the Accession of the Russian Federation to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications" dated 30 December 2021
Federal Law No. 236-FZ "On the Activities of Foreign Persons on the Internet in the territory of the Russian Federation" dated 1 July 2021 establishes that foreign internet companies with a daily coverage of more than 500,000 Russian users must open representative offices in Russia, and fulfill a number of other requirements, including creating an account on the website of the competent authority (Roskomnadzor) and establishing an electronic form of communication with users.
Pursuant to the law, Roskomnadzor has published a list of 13 foreign internet companies, which fall under the criteria. At present, a number of these companies are performing actions to meet the requirements.
The provisions of the law on internet companies opening representative offices in Russia entered into force on 1 January 2022.
For further information, please see Roskomnadzor’s website.
Since 2018 a pilot project has been operating in Russia to introduce a "tax free" system for foreign citizens exporting goods outside the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union.
This project has been extended until the end of 2022 and it operates in the following regions of Russia: the Republic of Mordovia, Republic of Tatarstan, Krasnodar Territory, Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, Volgograd Region, Kaliningrad Region, Leningrad Region, Moscow Region, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Novgorod Region, Rostov Region, Samara Region, Sverdlovsk Region, Moscow and St Petersburg. The list of regions remains unchanged.
Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1984 "On Amendments to Item 4 of the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of 6 February 2018 No. 105" dated 20 November 2021
The Russian government has determined the need to attract 124,007 foreign workers in 2022 and has also determined the permissible shares of foreign workers employed in various sectors of the economy.
This year's need for foreign labour is about 23,000 people more than the previous year.
These quotas and restrictions do not apply to highly qualified specialists and their family members, or to citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan who have a temporary residence permit or a residence permit in Russia.
Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2187 "On Determining the Need to Attract Foreign Workers Arriving in the Russian Federation on the Basis of a Visa, including for Priority Professional Qualification Groups, and Approving Quotas for 2022" dated 2 December 2021
Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1706 "On the Establishment for 2022 of the Permissible Share of Foreign Workers Employed by Economic Entities Engaged in Certain Types of Economic Activities in the Russian Federation" dated 7 October 2021
The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has approved a new procedure and administrative regulations for the provision of public services for making decisions on the accreditation of representative offices of foreign legal entities engaged in activities in the field of civil aviation, as well as auxiliary decisions on amendments to the register of accredited branch offices, representative offices of foreign legal entities, on the termination of accreditation, and on the accreditation of foreign employees of such organisations.
A foreign legal entity must apply to Rosaviatsia for accreditation of a representative office no later than twelve months after the date of the decision to open its representative office in the Russian Federation. The decision on the accreditation of the representative office is unlimited and is made by Rosaviatsia within seventeen business days from the date Rosaviatsia receives the application and documents.
The issuing of an accreditation certificate to a foreign citizen (representative office employee) and the decision to amend the information in the register of accredited branch offices and representative offices is made by Rosaviatsia within five business days. The decision to terminate the accreditation of the representative office is made within ten business days.
In general, the accreditation procedure remains similar to the one that is currently in effect.
The new procedure and administrative regulations enter into force on 1 March 2022 and will be in effect until 1 March 2028.
Order of the Rosaviatsia No. 801-P "On Approval of the Procedure for Making a Decision on the Accreditation of Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities Operating in the Field of Civil Aviation, on Amendments to the Information Contained in the State Register of Accredited Branch Offices, Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities, on the Termination of their Accreditation, and on the Accreditation of Foreign Citizens who are Employees of Representative Offices of a Foreign Legal Entity Operating in the Field of Civil Aviation in the Russian Federation" dated 20 October 2021
Order of Rosaviatsia No. 802-P "On Approval of the Administrative Regulations of the Federal Air Transport Agency for the Provision of State Services for Making a Decision on the Accreditation of Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities Operating in the Field of Civil Aviation, on Amendments to the Information Contained in the State Register of Accredited Branch Offices, Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities, on the Termination of Their Accreditation, and on the Accreditation of Foreign Citizens who are Employees of Representative Offices of a Foreign Legal Entity, engaging in activities in the field of civil aviation in the Russian Federation" dated 20 October 2021
On 17 November 2021, Russia signed the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (
The Convention has a limited scope of application. It only applies to civil and commercial matters. Issues arising from hereditary and marital relations, from relations regarding the transportation of passengers and cargo, and issues related to intellectual property are excluded from its scope. The Convention does not apply to arbitral awards (decisions of arbitration courts) and related judicial acts.
The uniform approach of the Convention can greatly facilitate the procedure for recognising and enforcing foreign judgements, which is currently governed by multiple international treaties and domestic laws and therefore frequently complicated and time-consuming.
As of 17 November 2021, in addition to Russia, four other states have joined the Convention – Costa Rica, Israel, Ukraine and Uruguay. At present, the Convention has not entered into force.
However, whether the Convention will eventually become a true “game-changer” remains to be seen and depends on how many more states will sign and ratify it in the future and what declarations (if any) these states will make.
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (The Hague, 2 July 2019)
