The Croatian-Slovenian border dispute over the Gulf of Piran in the context of international and EU law

Abstract

The border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia dates back to the early 1990s. At the centre of the dispute is the 19 km² extent Piran Bay. The maritime and land borders between the two states, which have not been settled since the break-up of Yugoslavia, were first decided by a Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2017, but the Croatia has not recognised the Final Award based on international law. Thus, Slovenia initiated infringement procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Union against Croatia in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 259 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.  Slovenia first brought the matter before the Commission, which remained silent on the matter. The Court, however, did not deliver a decision on the merits claiming its lack of competence in the issue at hand.