Sporazum o arbitraži između Hrvatske i Slovenije
Arbitration agreement between Croatia and Slovenia

Summary/Abstract: In the light of the Croatian interests, there are two components to be considered in the Arbitration Agreement between Croatia and Slovenia. The first one is definitely to meet the political demands of the Republic of Croatia, and, might thus be thought as highly acceptable: the Republic of Slovenia is to cease obstruction of Croatian efforts to join the EU in the long-term process of related negotiations. The second component of the agreement, however, might be considered as extremely unfavourable to the interests of Croatia. In terms of the preservation of Croatian territorial integrity, this component implies, in the authors’ view, a risk of losing a portion of the Croatian territory. Therefore, one of the major tasks of the Arbitral Tribunal is to determine Slovenia’s junction to the High Seas. The territorial junction to the High Seas, however, may only be realized upon agreement between Croatia and Slovenia, which, in return, implies the irretrievable loss of one portion of the Croatian territory. There is yet another unfavourable, though significant, implication in the agreement, that is directly related to the very act of establishing a list of the members of the Arbitral Tribunal. In other words, the impartiality of the list creators is disputable due to the following factors: the principle of solidarity, that is regularly invoked by the EU members, and the strong presence of Slovenia in the EU institutions. It was for the very first time in history, that is, that the EU institutions were actively involved in the bilateral border dispute, searching for a favourable political solution, and, at the same time, skirting around the regulations of international law. The aforementioned activities were initially requested by the Republic of Slovenia. In the authors’ opinion, the Croatian political interests, which also includes the primary strategic interest to become an EU member, may be realized only in the absence of risks which would be taken in terms of the preservation of the Croatian territory.

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