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Croatia and Slovenia sign arbitration agreement STOCKHOLM, Nov 4 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor signed an agreement in Stockholm on Wednesday referring a border dispute between their countries to an international arbitration tribunal. The Swedish Prime Minister and president of the European Council, Fredrik Reinfeldt, signed the agreement as a witness.

Croatia and Slovenia sign arbitration agreement STOCKHOLM, Nov 4 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor signed an agreement in Stockholm on Wednesday referring a border dispute between their countries to an international arbitration tribunal. The Swedish Prime Minister and president of the European Council, Fredrik Reinfeldt, signed the agreement as a witness. The agreement provides for the establishment of an international arbitration tribunal to determine the course of the border at sea and on land, Slovenia's contact with the high seas and the use of relevant maritime areas. In determining the boundary, the tribunal will apply international law, while in deciding on Slovenia's junction to the high seas, it will apply international law, the principle of equity and the principle of good neighbourly relations in order to achieve a fair and just settlement. The arbitration tribunal will have five members. Slovenia and Croatia will each appoint one member, while the president and two more members (recognised experts in international law) will be appointed by common agreement between the two countries from a list of candidates drawn up by the European Commission and the Enlargement Commissioner. In case the two countries cannot agree, the president and the two members of the tribunal will be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice from the list. All procedural timelines will start to apply from the date on which Croatia signs the European Union Accession Treaty. The two countries need to ratify the arbitration agreement and commit themselves in advance to accepting the award of the arbitration tribunal.

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