LJUBLJANA, Aug 10 (Hina) - The Maribor-based daily "Vecer" on Saturday claimed that recent frequent incidents in the Bay of Piran were Croatia's bid to force international arbitration in the dispute over the demarcation line on the
sea between Croatia and Slovenia.
LJUBLJANA, Aug 10 (Hina) - The Maribor-based daily "Vecer" on
Saturday claimed that recent frequent incidents in the Bay of Piran
were Croatia's bid to force international arbitration in the
dispute over the demarcation line on the sea between Croatia and
Slovenia. #L#
"The Croatian message is clear: it would like to impose the
arbitration in the border issue. Slovenia in principle should not
fear it, and arbitration should include not only the sea border but
also the land border, for instance south of the Dragonja river,"
Boris Jausovac wrote for the daily.
"Vecer" reminds that when insisting on its right to control a half
of the bay, Croatia cites Article 15 of the 1982 international
Convention on the Law of the Sea, while Slovenia insists on the
enforcement of the entire article, as the second item of the said
article provides for the possibility that the demarcation line
(i.e. median line) through the middle should not be applied if there
are special historical or other circumstances.
"Slovenia would have to prove the existence of special
circumstances. In this regard, the historical and economic
connection of the Piran Bay with the town of Piran is important," a
Slovenian expert for maritime law was quoted by the paper as
saying.
He added that in the case of new negotiations Slovenia's
representatives should insist on the country's right to the transit
to the open sea without corridor, and thus they would retain the
situation which had been on the day of former Yugoslavia's break-
up.
(hina) ms