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. 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. Mvep termination of the arbitration process between croatia. Slovenia croatia boundary dispute marbdy consulting ltd. Because no agreement has been established concerning the southern border, no information can be provided about the breadth and surface of maritime zones. 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.
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. In june, the haguebased permanent court of arbitration issued a socalled arbitration award that defined the border between slovenia and croatia. Arbitration between the republic of croatia and the republic. Despite the agreement, the slovenian government did not lift the. Slovenia and croatia have met to decide which international arbitration institute should decide a territorial dispute over the gulf of piran that has caused. 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.
This post will focus on the maritime delimitation issues. The clear subtext was that croatia is not respecting it. Arbitration between croatia and slovenia gpil german practice. The present post will deal with the arbitration agreement of 2009 aa ii, the junction area iii, and the maritime boundary iv in turn. Croatia v slovenia pca arbitration 92016 by aceris law llc 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. 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. Jun 19, 2017 arbitration between the republic of croatia and the republic of slovenia. A commentary on the maritime delimitation issues in the.
The hague, 19 june 2017 tribunal to render its final award on 29 june 2017. A sceptical view of the sloveniacroatia arbitration agreement. Arbitration agreement between the government of the. 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. Upon the conclusion of the arbitration agreement in 2009, slovenia lifted. On 25 may 2011 croatia and slovenia jointly submitted their arbitration agreement for registration with the united nations. Reflections on international judicialization oxford academic journals. The arbitration concerned a territorial and maritime dispute between croatia and slovenia. Sekolec and drenik both tendered their resignations. When parties sign an arbitration agreement, they undergo a binding dispute resolution process that leads to a binding award. It was rendered on 29 june 2017, ruling upon the border dispute between the republic of slovenia and the republic of croatia. Slovenia, a unique case, highlighted the conflict between the binding nature of the award and the integrity of arbitral proceedings.
Croatia rejects tribunal ruling in border dispute with slovenia. Croatia and slovenia submitted their territorial and maritime dispute to arbitration. Border arbitration agreement between slovenia and croatia. The longawaited final award regarding the pca arbitration between slovenia and croatia has finally been issued. Slovenia was also notified that from the date of the note croatia ceased to apply the arbitration agreement. But revelations about the insider triggered the croatian parliament in 2015 to unanimously terminate the arbitration agreement. Apr 30, 2015 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.
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. Jan 03, 2017 despite croatias decision to withdraw from arbitration proceedings, slovenia prepares for the verdict. The arbitration agreement was subsequently ratified by croatia and slovenia in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures. Slovenia edges out croatia in territorial arbitration law360. Voters were asked whether the dispute should be brought before an international arbitration tribunal. Professor ibler enjoyed musing about the world, the state of international law. Slovenian president borut pahor and foreign minister karl erjavec said on tuesday that slovenia was committed to good bilateral relations with neighbouring countries, and stressed that slovenia and croatia should avoid any statements which would harm their relations in anticipation of the. Sloveniacroatia arbitration tribunal to continue its work. 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. Pdf final award case croatia w slovenia franz zubieta.
Some six months since the publication of the third post on the croatia v. The tribunal had jurisdiction under the provisions of the arbitration agreement and article 21, paragraph 1 of the pca optional rules, and in conformity with article 65 of the vienna convention, to decide whether croatia, acting under article 60 of the convention, had validly proposed to slovenia to terminate the arbitration agreement and. The advocate generals opinion on slovenia v croatia. A sceptical view of the slovenia croatia arbitration agreement disclaimer.
To recapitulate, following croatias note verbale of 24 july 2015 informing slovenia and the tribunal of its intention to terminate the arbitration agreement, slovenia tendered its objection dated august. Slovenia arbitration, as bernard woolley might say, there has been movement. 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. Republic of croatia b slovenias junction to the high sea page 2. On 30 june 2016, the tribunal issued a partial award to the effect that the arbitration procedure would continue. Jun 30, 2017 the two sides had initially agreed to the arbitration in 2009 as part of a deal that lifted slovenia s veto against croatia s membership of the european union in 20. State from an arbitration agreement concluded with slovenia that. Upon the initiative of the european commission, commissioner fule met today with ms vesna pusic, minister of foreign and european affairs of the republic of croatia and samuel zbogar, minister of foreign affairs of slovenia. Slovenia violated the arbitration agreement by engaging in ex parte communications with 22 croatia v. Croatia has declined to participate in the proceeding since july 2015, when it unilaterally terminated the arbitration agreement between it and slovenia under which the proceeding had been brought. 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. European commission press releases press release border.
Tribunal rules that croatia v slovenia arbitration. Slovenia arbitration, united nations convention on the law of the sea, international law. Much controversy has surrounded the recent arbitration between croatia and slovenia. Court of justice of the european union press release no 920. Croatia draws back from arbitration agreement with slovenia.
The arbitral tribunal, presided by judge gilbert guillaume, rendered its final award on the basis of an arbitration agreement between the republic of. Croatia then withdrew from the arbitration, invoking the termination provisions contained in article 60 of the vienna convention on the law of treaties. The two former yugoslavian federation countries have been at odds over the issue since they became independent in 1991. Article 3 of the arbitration agreement tasks an arbitral tribunal to determine a the course of the maritime. Final award in pca arbitration between slovenia and croatia.
The arbitration agreement was subsequently ratified by. Croatia and slovenia, however, were not able to settle their dispute by diplomatic. 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. In late july 2015, the croatian parliament unanimously decided that croatia should withdraw from the border arbitration agreement with slovenia, signed in 2009, proposing that the two countries begin talks on an alternative settlement of the dispute. Slovenia preparing for arbitration ruling on border with croatia. Croatia s 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 border of slovenia and croatia where the cjeu reached the.
An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in a document signed by the parties or in an exchange of letters, facsimile. 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. To resolve the issue, an arbitration agreement between the government of the republic of slovenia and the government of the republic of croatia was signed. An arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clause in a contract or in the form of a separate agreement. Croatia resolved the maritime dispute with slovenia via statetostate arbitration. 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 of provisions of its arbitration agreement with croatia, the violations were not of such a. Slovenias 1993 memorandum on the bay of piran and croatias reaction. In accordance with article 3 of the arbitration agreement, the arbitral tribunal had to determine. Slovenia croatia arbitration tribunal to continue its work politics, 01 jul 2016 by sta the arbitration court in the hague tasked with determining the course of the border between slovenia and croatia announced on thursday it would continue with its work despite slovenia breaching the arbitration agreement. Full text available in pdf format european journal of international. Conclusion and ratification of the arbitration agreement. The republic of croatia submitted a motion of inadmissibility on 21 december 2018 on the grounds that i the claims of slovenia were only ancillary to the settlement of the bilateral dispute about the validity of the arbitration agreement and the arbitration award, ii the above dispute had to be settled according to the rules of.
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. All opinions in this column reflect the views of the authors, not of euractiv. The fact that it secured that territorial issues, i. Article 4 of the arbitration agreement mandates that the tribunal apply a the rules and principles of international law for the determinations in.
Judge gilbert guillaume president ambassador rolf einar fife. As part of the agreement, slovenia, which had been a member of the european union since 1 may 2004, lifted its blockade of croatias. On 2 november 2009 the croatian parliament gave its consent to the arbitration agreement with slovenia. Ec clarifies its position on croatiaslovenia border arbitration. A referendum on resolving the border dispute with croatia was held in slovenia on 6 june 2010.
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