If you liked our theme of empowering businesses with internationalisation strategies, you will also like our article about the legal solutions regarding partnership abandonment. A business partnership dissolves when a partner amongst the owners of an enterprise leaves without having reached an agreement on next steps with other owners. This can simply mean that the partner is leaving the partnership, but refuses to arrange a clean and proper exit out of the business. However, in a slightly more severe form, partner abandonment might also mean that the leaving partner is taking business assets with them, to start a new venture abroad with the gain of competing with the former business. In such situation, the question arising is whether the business could make a claim for damages against the leaving partner, or even stop him from leaving. Let us first note that we believe that a business partnership is to be seen as a long-term commitment. Therefore, we would always view it as a last resort if you ever had to take legal action against your business partner. Being a small and medium-sized enterprise makes no difference. Lawyers often theorise about how the big and powerful enterprise would prevail with all the rights against the little guy. But at Up4Scale we always have our feet on the ground; we have grown ourselves, from startup to scale up. We know that at any stage, you work hand in hand with your business partners. Therefore, you need to have good relationships, and the right legal support to thrive in the international market. The good news is that according to civil law (which is most frequently adopted in the majority of the world’s countries), a partner has a duty not to abscond from their responsibilities and leave the company to pursue his or her personal interests. We are not talking here about a business idea that is piloted on the side; rather, we are discussing a situation where the partner’s withdrawal would lead the company to suffer from loss of income. One of the questions that we often hear is “what is a partner allowed to do in this type of situation?” What is the partner permitted to do to stop the business from suffering? Should a partner be found in such a situation, he would be limited to attempting to recover the investment that he had brought to the company before his or her departure. Ideally, this would mean keeping open a line of communication with the other partners to discuss compensation according to the terms of any partnership agreement or the company’s articles of association. If the partner will not communicate, then it might be too late. A partnership agreement should have been in place and the partner may be entitled to getting compensated for any loss. If the partner is acting out of bad faith, which is usually the case, then the other partners might be able to recover compensation for any damages caused to the company. If they manage to do so, the company can take legal proceedings against the rogue partner to obtain further compensation. Should the regular dispute resolution process not work well, you may want to try alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as mediation. Even if it is not mandated by law, many countries have rules that govern mediation processes. We all know that business partners in the early stages know each other well and that they agree on everything. However, it is possible that more than a decade later, the level of trust is regrettably diminished. It is only then that you start thinking about how badly it would turn out, were you bringing a lawsuit against your partner. This is why it is always advisable to get a partnership agreement reviewed or created when starting a business together. Not only is it good to have a fresh contractual understanding of the relationship between the partners; the contract should also spell out how any potential dispute with a partner is to be resolved. Trust between the partners is important to make the business work. If you will be running the company far apart and across international boundaries, we recommend that you talk with your partners about the level of control that they may have in the business. Do not take it for granted that you will always have up to date information on the progress of the business. If you are starting a business with someone who lives abroad, it would be good to negotiate the language of the partnership agreement. Make sure that all parties understand the terms in the contract and the consequences for either party if an agreement is breached. If required, you may need to obtain translation and interpretation of the agreement and the associated terms. Should a partner decide to relocate to a country outside of your business region, the relationship may become even more complicated. In the worst-case scenario, it may not be possible for you to have a face-to-face discussion about the issue, as you may no longer be able to travel to the partner’s country. This is why it is always important to invest time in securing good communication from the beginning of a partnership. You should always meet with your business partners on a frequent basis, while discussing any potentially sensitive issues. But what best practices are recommended to avoid any scenario where a partner is abandoning a business? As a first step, we strongly advise to create a healthy business partnership agreement that both parties will accept. According to the in depth guide on legal actions against business partners abandoning their commitments, this is crucial for maintaining a successful partnership.