Republic of croatia b slovenias junction to the high sea page 2. On august 2015, slovenia informed the tribunal that it had objected to croatia s notification of the termination of the arbitration agreement and stated that the tribunal had the. On 4 november 2009, the prime ministers of croatia and slovenia signed an arbitration agreement, by which croatia and slovenia submitted their territorial and maritime dispute to arbitration. The arbitration between croatia and slovenia, brokered by the european commission, conducted under the auspices of the permanent court of arbitration and concerning delimitation of the maritime and land boundary between the two states, has been ongoing over the past three years. Apr 06, 2016 the pca noted that croatias note verbale to slovenia claimed that slovenia had breached the arbitration agreement and that the proceedings for the dispute had been irremovably damaged, giving rise to a manifest violation of the rights of croatia. Croatia rejects tribunal ruling in border dispute with. Croatia accepted the arbitration agreement available here in good faith, ready to resolve its border dispute with slovenia at an ad hoc arbitral tribunal in the manner and under the conditions set forth in the arbitration agreement itself. Jul 31, 2015 croatia is going to terminate the arbitration agreement between slovenia that solved sea border disputes in piran bay because of leaking wiretaps of slovenian officials according to disputes. Tribunal rules that croatia v slovenia arbitration proceedings may continue despite arbitrator misconduct introduction in a partial award handed down on 30 june 2016, a tribunal held that while slovenia, by engaging in ex parte contact with the arbitrator originally appointed by it, acted in violation. Oct 22, 2018 this article presents the currently applicable legal framework of international arbitration in slovenia with special focus on the most recent developments, namely with regard to the border arbitration between croatia and slovenia, to thirdparty funding and the establishment of the patent mediation and arbitration centre.
Slovenia and croatia have signed a border arbitration agreement, paving the way for the two countries to clear up a nearly twodecadeold dispute that has held up croatias european union bid. A sceptical view of the sloveniacroatia arbitration agreement. In this law it claimed that nothing in the arbitration agreement between the government of the republic of croatia and the government of the republic of slovenia shall be understood as croatia. Jun 19, 2017 arbitration between the republic of croatia and the republic of slovenia. The european commission on tuesday clarified its position on the border arbitration process between croatia and slovenia, saying that it generally supported arbitration processes in the interest of legal certainty. Croatia exits border arbitration with slovenia, defying eu. Sloveniacroatia arbitration tribunal to continue its work. On 2 november 2009 the croatian parliament gave its consent to the arbitration agreement with slovenia. The highlypoliticized and controversial croatia v slovenia maritime delimitations arbitration, a pca arbitration concerning the countries sea and land frontier dispute, will continue after all, ruled the pca tribunal in a partial award on 30 june 2016.
Croatia has refused to accept an international tribunal ruling over a decadesold border dispute with slovenia. As a consequence, the arbitrator appointed by croatia resigned. Croatia has since maintained that the arbitration procedure is irreversibly compromised and asked the tribunal to discontinue the proceedings, while slovenia wants the tribunal to complete its mandate as determined by the arbitration agreement. The advocate generals opinion on slovenia v croatia. Termination of the arbitration process between croatia and. Reflections on international judicialization oxford academic journals. In retrospect, the very strong mediating role in the slovenia croatia instance, where the european commission drafted the arbitration agreement and discussed it with the parties and the council presidency skilfully assisted the parties in the finalising stage see iii.
As slovenia and croatia had not managed to resolve their dispute concerning the border on land and sea despite numerous attempts, on 4 november 2009 they, with the assistance of the european commission, signed the arbitration agreement establishing an arbitral tribunal. On 30 june 2016, the tribunal issued a partial award to the effect that the arbitration procedure would continue. Tribunal rules that croatia v slovenia arbitration. Year after arbitration award, slovenia and croatia still. Arbitration between croatia and slovenia gpil german practice. While the award is binding and a definitive settlement of the dispute according to the arbitration agreement, croatia has refused to recognise the decision and have questioned the validity of the whole process because of issues with the slovenian arbitrator who had to step down after his neutrality was questioned. Mar 01, 2017 in stockholm on 4 november 2009 an arbitration agreement between croatia and slovenia was finally signed by the eu president and both countries prime ministers, and a subsequent referendum in slovenia authorized the use of binding arbitration. Slovenia violated the arbitration agreement by engaging in ex parte communications with 22 croatia v. As a result, the republic of croatia decided to withdraw from the arbitral proceedings as of 31 july 2015 invoking a material breach of the arbitration agreement on the part of slovenia pursuant to art. Slovenia croatia boundary dispute marbdy consulting ltd.
The present post will deal with the arbitration agreement of 2009 aa ii, the junction area iii, and the maritime boundary iv in turn. The arbitration concerned a territorial and maritime dispute between croatia and slovenia. Croatian lawmakers unanimously backed pulling out of an arbitration process with neighboring slovenia, defying a european union plea to continue. Slovenia to sue fellow eu member croatia over border. The court awarded some parts of the land border disputes to croatia, and others to slovenia. In the matter of an arbitration under the arbitration agreement between the government of the republic of croatia and the government of the republic of slovenia, signed on 4 november 2009 between. On 25 may 2011 croatia and slovenia jointly submitted their arbitration agreement for registration with the united nations. Ec clarifies its position on croatiaslovenia border arbitration.
This post will focus on the maritime delimitation issues. Croatia sent a note verbale to slovenia notifying it that, because of the gravity of slovenias material breach of the provisions of the arbitration agreement, requirements had been met for its termination. When parties sign an arbitration agreement, they undergo a binding dispute resolution process that leads to a binding award. Jul 29, 2015 croatian lawmakers unanimously backed pulling out of an arbitration process with neighboring slovenia, defying a european union plea to continue seeking a resolution to a 22yearold border dispute. The ruling determined that slovenia did violate the rules of the original arbitration agreement, but that the violation was not serious enough to justify croatias desire to terminate the arbitration hearing. A commentary on the maritime delimitation issues in the. Croatia sent a note verbale to slovenia notifying it that, because of the gravity of slovenia s material breach of the provisions of the arbitration agreement, requirements had been met for its termination. Croatia then withdrew from the arbitration, invoking the termination provisions contained in article 60 of the vienna convention on the law of treaties. Elite interviews with a relatively small sample of respondents ibid. Slovenia was also notified that from the date of the note croatia ceased to apply the arbitration agreement. Final award in pca arbitration between slovenia and croatia. The arbitration agreement was subsequently ratified by.
The problem escalated in 2008 with slovenia s blockade of croatia s eu accession that lasted into 2009 before the two countries agreed to an eusponsored arbitration. The hague, 19 june 2017 tribunal to render its final award on 29 june 2017. It was rendered on 29 june 2017, ruling upon the border dispute between the republic of slovenia and the republic of croatia. Conclusion and ratification of the arbitration agreement. Nonetheless, the proceedings represent a welcome step in the right direction in terms of the perception and use of arbitration as a quasidiplomatic interstate dispute resolution mechanism. Oct 19, 2015 croatias parliament unanimously voted to terminate the arbitration agreement on the grounds that slovenia had committed a material breach and failed to act in good faith. The arbitration agreement was signed by both prime ministers in november 2009 but was subject to a complex ratification process, having to be sent to a popular referendum in slovenia and was narrowly voted for in may 2010. Article 4 of the arbitration agreement mandates that the tribunal apply a the rules and principles of international law for the determinations in.
Slovenia will take neighboring croatia to court because zagreb is unwilling to implement an international arbitration ruling on the border between the. This lecture was delivered at the european society of international laws. The arbitral tribunal, presided by judge gilbert guillaume, rendered its final award on the basis of an arbitration agreement between the republic of slovenia and the republic of croatia, signed on the 4 november 2009. Slovenia objected to the termination of the arbitration agreement and requested. Jun 15, 2018 despite croatia s rejection of the award, slovenia initiated procedures for its implementation as stipulated in the 2009 arbitration agreement, which gives the two countries six months to prepare for implementation, that is until the end of 2017. Meanwhile, slovenia argued that there is no impediment for the pcas continued. Slovenia, a unique case, highlighted the conflict between the binding nature of the award and the integrity of arbitral proceedings. On 3 march 20, croatia and slovenia reach an agreement on ljubljana bank. Jun 29, 2017 croatia has refused to accept an international tribunal ruling over a decadesold border dispute with slovenia. Slovenias 1993 memorandum on the bay of piran and croatias reaction.
Arbitration between the republic of croatia and the republic. Eu enlargement, arbitration, croatia, slovenia, serbia. The border between the two countries has been an ongoing dispute for a quarter century. Full text available in pdf format european journal of international. Sep 06, 2017 slovenia and the european commission increased pressure on croatia this week to implement an international court ruling on the border between the countries, as their leaders have failed so far to agree on how to discuss the issue. Jun 30, 2017 the court awarded some parts of the land border disputes to croatia, and others to slovenia.
A month after that, the parliament of slovenia unanimously ratified the croatian accession treaty. Croatia rejects tribunal ruling in border dispute with slovenia. If the parties failed to designate such applicable law, the applicable law will be the law applicable to the substance of the dispute or the law of the republic of croatia. Law on arbitration arbitration act 4 7 the law applicable to the validity of an arbitration agreement ratione materiae is the law designated by the parties. The european commission continues to follow closely the arbitration process on this bilateral issue. But croatia says the haguebased permanent court of arbitration was no longer valid, following disclosures in 2015 that a slovenian official had inside contacts with the courts slovenian arbitrator. An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in a document signed by the parties or in an exchange of letters, facsimile messages, telegrams, electronic mail or other means of communication or recording of data which provide a record of the arbitration agreement that. The fact that it secured that territorial issues, i. Court of justice of the european union press release no 920. In the arbitration concerning a territorial and maritime dispute between the republic of croatia and the republic of slovenia pursuant to athe rbitration agreement of 4 november 2009, the. On august 2015, slovenia informed the tribunal that it had objected to croatias notification of the termination of the arbitration agreement and stated that the tribunal had the. Croatia draws back from arbitration agreement with slovenia.
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