SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), June 19 (SeeNews) – The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague said on Monday it will publish its final decision on the territorial and maritime dispute between the Croatia and Slovenia on June 29.
"A public sitting of the Tribunal will take place from 2.00–4.00 p.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which the president of the Tribunal, Judge Gilbert Guillaume, will read the Tribunal’s decision," the international tribunal arbitrating the 20-year long dispute between the two former Yugoslav countries said in a statement.
On November 4, 2009, the governments of Croatia and Slovenia signed an agreement to submit their territorial and maritime dispute to arbitration, after they were unable to resolve it themselves.
The Tribunal was called upon to determine the course of the maritime and land boundary between Croatia and Slovenia, Slovenia’s junction to the High Sea and the regime for the use of the relevant maritime areas.
The arbitration proceedings began in early 2012.
Croatia withdrew from the arbitration agreement in 2015, following a scandal concerning leaked phone recordings between Slovenia's arbitrator Jernej Sekolec and an official in the country's foreign ministry, Simona Drenik. At the time, Croatia said the trial was compromised and made a recommendation to Slovenia to commence alternative negotiations. Sekolec and Drenik resigned, but Croatian expected the tribunal to dissolve itself, terminating the process. This, however, did not happen, with Croatia now expected to ignore PCA's ruling.
The European Commission has said it generally supports such arbitration processes due to legal security, but that it would also back a bilateral solution.
The PCA is an independent intergovernmental organization established by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.