"The tribunal will now begin its deliberations concerning the legal implications of the matters set out in Croatia's letters of 24 July 2015 and 31 July 2015. In the meantime, any consideration by the tribunal regarding the merits of the underlying territorial and maritime dispute remains suspended," notified the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. The tribunal acts as a registrar for an ad hoc arbitral tribunal between Slovenia and Croatia.

Only Slovenia took part at Thursday's hearing, which focused on the legal implications of the "events from the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015" that led Croatia to request the discontinuation of the whole process. In a press release the tribunal also wrote that Croatia did not attend the hearing despite receiving an invitation. It did however clarify its positions to the court through letters sent on the 24th and 31st of July 2015. The tribunal also received a copy from a Croatian diplomatic note sent to Slovenia on the 30th of July last year, notifying Slovenia about its withdrawal from the arbitration agreement.

The tribunal further explained that only Slovenia replied to the court's December call, sent out to both Slovenia and Croatia, for submitting additional material, while Croatia decided to withdraw from the process in July last year after the scandal involving recorded phone calls. Slovenia took part in Thursday's hearing and its representatives advocated the position that the tribunal must finish its mandate and render an award on the border dispute between the two countries.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor responded to the press release from the Hague by saying that the arbitral tribunal was still active, but has not made any new decisions since the 31st of July last year as it was now examining the circumstances under which it would be able to adopt further decisions on the subject matter of the dispute.

With regards to the tribunal's current position to suspend any decision-making on the merits of the dispute, the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains to the public that the arbitral tribunal decided already last summer and in December that it would look into the legal implications of the Croatian letters. "It was clear even then that the tribunal would first make a decision on that matter. The two countries have been able to present their positions to the tribunal in both written and oral form, which Slovenia has done," the ministry wrote.

Any consideration regarding the merits of the territorial and maritime dispute between the two countries is thus suspended. The five-member panel of judges, made up of Gilbert Guillaume, Vaughan Lowe, Bruno Simma, Rolf Einar Fife and Nicolas Michel, will make a decision in the coming days or weeks, whether it will continue its work and render a final award.

T. B. B. (Ra SLO), translated by K. J.