Building a legal connective bridge between Russian and Italian businesses

As a representative of Italian business in Russia, how would you describe Russia’s current investment climate, from the point of view of ‘ease’ of doing business by foreign investors?  

Unfortunately, in spite of all the measures taken in recent years by the Russian government, we cannot call the current business climate a completely favorable one, as there is no adequate provision for investment protection in the country. Basically, this can be explained by the extensive use of the so-called ‘administrative resources’ in pressurizing investors in the country, and also the fact that the legal and normative acts adopted at the federal level to guarantee investors’ rights are usually not effectively implemented at the local and regional levels. Consequently, in practice, investors face arbitrariness and lawlessness from the local governments, while lack of transparency in the judicial and administrative systems creates a fertile ground for gross power abuse and corruption. 

SALT has been operating in Russia now for several years. Briefly put, how would you assess the company’s activities on the Russian market over these years?

Our company, Studio Associato Legale Tributario (SALT) specializes in the provision of legal consulting for foreign investors in Russia. Principally, SALT provides support to foreign investors entering the Russian market, maintenance of their activity, development and expansion of their businesses in Russia. Over these years, SALT has carried out a number of successful projects, while other serious ones are currently under realization. Indeed, the positive results of SALT’s work are obvious, so the company’s activity in Russia can definitely be defined as highly successful.  

How do the relationships with such famous Italian law firms as Studio Legale Tributario and Carnelutti Group help your company in its business operations in Russia?

SALT is a part of the Carnelutti Group of companies, which renders legal and fiscal services with representation offices in Italy and several other European countries. As I have already mentioned, SALT specializes in the provision of legal consulting for foreign investors in Russia.  Cooperation with other legal companies helps us to give a complete spectrum of legal and fiscal consultations on both Russian laws and the applicable legislations in foreign investors’ countries of origin. This cooperation also helps us to exchange experience and render top-quality services for Russian companies in Europe. 

“SALT adopts a flexible policy for its clients and seeks to work not only with internationally famed companies, but also with SMEs that are often in need of more attention and support.”

As a law firm, SALT directly interacts with the Russian judiciary and legal systems. In this context, how would you characterize this system from the point of provision of adequate legal protection for foreign investors’ rights?

When supporting foreign investors we certainly interact with the Russian judicial system. Unfortunately, it should be noted that the system is not very efficient. This inefficiency stems, first of all, from the low professional level of judges. Consequently, our courts neither follow international practice nor common rules of law. This becomes particularly obvious in cases such as the enforcement of international commercial arbitration court decisions. Indeed, it is very difficult to honor such decisions in Russia due to bureaucracy and imperfection of the local judiciary system that provides legal loopholes for declaring such rulings ‘null and void.’ It is our sincere hope that the ongoing reforms of the judicial system will help improve the situation.       

If briefly put, how do the Russian judiciary and legal systems differ in the field of corporate law practice from those in Italy and EU in general, and what do they have in common?

First of all, we should mention the differences in periods of case considerations in Russia and Italy. In Russia, the times for case hearings are much shorter. In practice, this does not always impact positively on cases, as courts try to stick to the stipulated timeline schedules established by law, at times at the expense of quality. Besides, most Russian courts still remain highly dependent on the so-called administrative resources.

What plans/projects aimed at expanding the company’s operations and presence on the Russian legal services market are currently under consideration by the management?

In spite of the ongoing economic crisis today, the level of business activities in Russia is still growing. We, as a law company, are broadening the range of our legal services. SALT adopts a flexible policy towards its clients, seeks to work not only with big internationally famed companies, but also with small and medium-sized businesses that are often in need of more attention and legal support in the country  

Today, as the global crisis rages on, a company’s relations with its staff has become very important. In this respect, how do you view corporate social responsibility in Russia?

"SALT serves as a kind of a link between Russian and Italian businesses, as it helps establish contacts and eliminate contradictions caused by differences in Russians and Italians’ mentalities.”

During this crisis, a lot of companies turned out to be irresponsible as they sacked workers in huge numbers, engaged in reductions and non-payments of wages contrary to the existing laws. Based on our professional experience, we can affirm that companies with foreign investment capital are more responsible toward their staffs and societies, where they operate. There were no mass lay-off of workers, wage reductions and salary payment delays among our corporate clients. Besides, almost all our clients frequently take parts in social initiatives and charity events in Russia.    

As you already know, this interview is being conducted as a part of a special report on Russian-Italian business relations. In this context, what role, in your opinion, can an international company, such as SALT, play in bring different nations closer together?

Our activity is directly associated with the strengthening of business relations between Russia and Italy as most of our clients are Italian investors with businesses in Russia. Therefore, SALT serves as a kind of a link between Russian and Italian businesses, as it helps get contacts and eliminate contradictions caused by the differences in Russians and Italians’ mentalities. It should also be mentioned that all our employees are multilingual, as they speak several languages, and have undergone relevant practice courses abroad.   

In continuation of the previous question, what, in your opinion, should be done by Russian and Italian business circles to boost the current level of cooperation between companies?

We’d like to wish representatives of Russian and Italian businesses more transparency in their relations and deeper understanding of the responsibility for adopted decisions. Also, it is our wish that when taking decisions, businesspeople should not only think about the profitability of their investments into projects, but should also to take state and social interests into consideration.