| Author (Corporate) | Cardiff EDC (Compiler) |
|---|---|
| Series Details | C-457/18 |
| Publication Date | 2018-2020 |
| Content Type | News, Overview |
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Summary: Judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on its jurisdiction to rule on a border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia. Further information: In order to resolve an outstanding issue relating to the establishment of their common borders following the proclamation of their respective independence in the 1990s, Croatia and Slovenia concluded an arbitration agreement in November 2009. Under that agreement - which became effective a year later - the two countries undertook to submit this dispute to the arbitral tribunal established by the agreement, whose award would be binding on them. The tribunal was established in 2012. Following a procedural issue that arose before that tribunal, Croatia later took the view that the tribunal's ability to make an award independently and impartially had been compromised. In July 2015, Croatia informed Slovenia that the latter was considered guilty of material breaches of the arbitration agreement and thus decided to terminate that same agreement. The arbitral tribunal nevertheless decided on the continuation of the proceeding and made an arbitration award in June 2017, by which it defined the sea and land borders between the two countries. Croatia did not execute that arbitration award. In July 2018 Slovenia brought an action for failure to fulfil obligations before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). On 11 December 2019, the Court's Advocate General issued the Opinion that the CJEU does not have jurisdiction to rule on an international boundary dispute that falls outside the scope of EU law. The Advocate General considered that the infringements of EU law of which Slovenia accused Croatia were subsidiary to the issue of determining the border between the two countries, which is a matter of public international law. On 31 January 2020, the Court of Justice took the same view, but also argued that the Member States are required to strive sincertely to bring about a definitive legal solution to the dispute. |
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| Subject Categories | Law, Politics and International Relations |
| Subject Tags | Bilateral Relations, EU Law |
| Keywords | CJEU Judgments, Nature | Principles of EU Law |
| Countries / Regions | Croatia, Slovenia |
