FM Pusić: A decision is impossible to reach based on a contaminated case

Although part of the public in Croatia, Slovenia and abroad believes that the basic issue regarding the latest situation is the fact that the Slovene arbiter has been compromised and thinks that the problem has been solved by his resignation...

Although part of the public in Croatia, Slovenia and abroad believes that the basic issue regarding the  latest situation is the fact that the Slovene arbiter has been compromised and thinks that the problem has been solved by his resignation and his replacement by another judge, Croatia's principal objection is that the entire case based on which the arbiters should make their decision has been contaminated by the fact that the Slovene arbiter had been including additional documents into the file after the Permanent Court of Arbitration had already started to discuss and examine the case, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić after a briefing held for the accredited members of the diplomatic corps in Croatia. This not only opposes the rules defined for this procedure but also allows for things to be subsequently added to the documentation, said the minister, adding that after such actions it was impossible to establish which documents had been submitted legally and which had been included into the file after the beginning of the discussion. “Croatia believes it is impossible to reach a decision based on a contaminated case,” the minister said.

“Croatia still believes that the issue of the border with Slovenia should be resolved and that there is an interest between the two countries to find some form of solution”, the minister commented, going on to say that Croatia had wanted to resolve the dispute with Slovenia through arbitration and that the state had invested a great deal of time, staff and resources into the process. “We think that the behavior of the Slovene arbiter and the Slovene agent has inflicted damage both on us and the Slovene side,” the minister concluded.
The briefing for the members of the diplomatic corps accredited in the Republic of Croatia has been held in order to inform them on the latest developments with regard to the arbitration procedure between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia. The meeting was also attended by Milorad Pupovac, Chairman of the Croatian Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee, and Jadranka Kosor, MP (Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia from 2009 to 2011).

The statement by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić

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