Legislator Supporting the Venture Business. FBK Lawyers about New Civil Code Standards

FBK Grant Thornton Partner, head of Corporate Practice of FBK Legal Alexander Ermolenko took part in the round table discussion of The new RF Civil Code liability standards and the development prospects for the law on business companies from the point of view of the interests of the venture and internet industry organized by the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF).

The participants in the round table discussion – heads of the internet companies, representatives of the investment funds, leading experts in the field of company – discussed the prospects of using the new Civil Code standards. The innovations make significant changes in the provision on liabilities and agreements. In particular, according to Alexander Ermolenko, it is for the first time that the domestic law provides for the use of such forms of liabilities as an option agreement, assurance of circumstances, creditors’ agreement and some others.

In his report on the prospective use of two new articles (Art. 406 Recovery of Losses Incurred and Art. 431 Assurance of Circumstances), the head of FBK Legal corporate practice noted that the use of these mechanisms in the company’s practices allowed reducing the investors’ risks, shorten the cycle of the project due diligence, increase the mutual responsibility of the investor and the startup representatives.

He emphasized that the application in the Russian practice of the new articles that in terms of contents are the analogues of a range of the English Law provisions would allow domestic businesses to apply the Russian law instead of international under the comparative circumstances, and in general to orientate themselves toward the world quality standards in the accompaniment of investment transactions.

Alexander Ermolenko also pointed out that for several years the Company experts took part in the discussion of changes in the legislation designed to simplify and facilitate the work of venture investors.


Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) is a public organization aiming to promote the development of the Internet business in Russia providing financing and expertise to industry startups at early stages of development. The IIDF priorities cover educational, legislative and infrastructure projects that will contribute to the development of a full-fledged market for small and medium Internet business.

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