Press Center

In Resolution No. 59-P dated 13 October 2026, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation held that an employer may not refuse to pay a severance payment (compensation) provided for in an employment contract solely on the grounds that the employee is resigning voluntarily. This ruling reinforces the significance of contractual employee guarantees and requires employers to take a more careful approach to negotiating terms regarding payments upon the termination of an employment relationship.

Starting September 1, 2026, employers will have broader grounds to dismiss employees for theft. The list of circumstances under which an employer may initiate the termination of an employee’s contract following the discovery of theft has been expanded (Federal Law No. 144-FZ of May 25, 2026). This article explains the specific changes, how to properly document a dismissal on these grounds, and the new risks employers may face if the required procedure is not followed correctly.

The Russian Government has submitted to the State Duma a draft law proposing to amend the conditions under which creditors of a company undergoing reorganisation may seek early performance of obligations or, where early performance is impossible, termination of those obligations and compensation for the resulting losses.

On 14 October 2026, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (the “Supreme Court”) approved Review of Case Law of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 3 (2026) (the “Review”). Of the 51 legal positions in the Review, the most significant for business are the conclusions of the Judicial Chamber for Economic Disputes of the Supreme Court on certain issues of indemnity for contractual losses, foreclosure on pledged property, and the qualification of a price increase by a collectively dominant entity after the conclusion of a contract. We discuss them in more detail below.

On 16 October 2026, the Russian Government submitted to the State Duma bill No. 12837-9 (Bill) amending Federal Law No. 61-FZ dated 12 April 2010 "On Circulation of Medicines" (Law on Circulation of Medicines).

The Bill introduces a special circulation regime for individual gene therapy pharmaceuticals (IGTPs): a medical organisation will be able to manufacture such a pharmaceutical for a specific patient and use it on its own premises without registration, on the basis of an authorisation issued by the Russian Ministry of Health.

On October 2, 2026, the Official Gazette of Turkey (Resmî Gazete) published amendments by the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Authority (Nükleer Düzenleme Kurumu, “NDK”) to the Regulation on Licensing Activities for Nuclear Facilities (“Licensing Regulation”) and the Regulation on the Management System for Nuclear Facilities, Radiation Facilities, and Radioactive Waste Management Facilities (“Management System Regulation”). Most of the amendments took effect on the date of publication. The new procedure for making changes at nuclear facilities (Article 41 of the Regulations on Licensing Activities) will take effect on January 2, 2027.

The amendments apply to organizations that carry out activities related to nuclear facilities based on NDK licensing documents (approvals, permits, and licenses). With regard to the Akkuyu NPP, the licensee is Akkuyu Nükleer A.Ş. Organizations within the Rosatom State Corporation that participate in the project as designers, equipment manufacturers, contractors, and service providers are indirectly affected by the amendments through the licensee’s processes and the terms of supply contracts.

From 1 January 2027, a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme for patent applications for inventions filed with either of the two authorities will come into force in Russia and Belarus. It will apply, inter alia, to applications that have entered the national phase under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

In 2025, the pharmaceutical market grew, and the number of transactions in it increased sharply. The high cost of borrowed capital, strict regulation and a valuation gap have made the legal structure of a transaction no less important than its price. The authors examine how Russian corporate law instruments work in the pharmaceutical industry — from the purchase of a pharmacy chain to a joint venture for product localisation.

Dmitry Kirillov, Partner at Lidings and Head of the Tax and Customs Practice and the Digital Law Practice, will take part in the ICC Russia conference "Crypto & Trade Finance 2026," dedicated to trade finance instruments and alternative mechanisms for cross-border settlements. The event will be held on 20 October 2026 in Moscow.

On September 8, 2026, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India published a draft amendment to the Drugs Rules from 1945, according to which a pharmacy must dispense any prescription drugs under video surveillance that records the dispensing, and keep the recordings for at least three months. For companies operating in both markets, it is important to take into account the difference in approaches. We cover this in more detail in our legal alert.