The political top brass of the country today again discussed the nomination of the new Slovenian arbiter in the border arbitration procedure with Croatia. The Parliament held a meeting, the Foreign Affairs Committee held a closed session, but the government made the final decision on the matter. It came as a surprise to Cerar that all MP from the coalition Social Democrats (SD) were absent, because all of them were on holiday.

According to Cerar, the aim of today’s decision was to prove the impartiality of the Hague-based arbitration tribunal. “We want the tribunal to remain independent and impartial, and we want it to reach a fair decision,” added Cerar. He said he does not know when exactly Gilbert Guillaume, the president of the tribunal, will nominate a new Slovenian arbiter. Guillaume also needs to appoint a new Croatian arbiter, as the last one resigned, and Croatia already refused to nominate a new one. However, Cerar said he hopes that all five members of the Tribunal will convene to discuss the issue in late August.

Foreign Affairs Committee hopes the Tribunal can now resume its work
The Foreign Affairs Committee hopes that the Arbitration Tribunal can now continue its work without interruption, the President of Committee, Jožef Horvat, said. He added that Slovenia honours international treaties, and that includes the Arbitration Agreement for resolving the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia.

Most parties support the latest move by the government. Only the opposition Democrats (SDS) noted that “the arbitration farce keeps going. At the end, Miro Cerar will probably ask the Croatian government to appoint a new Slovenian arbiter.” Most experts are divided on today’s decision, but they agree it is a good thing that the arbitration procedure will continue.

G. K., A. Č.; translated by D. V.