EU Court declares itself not competent for Slovenian lawsuit against Croatia

(Patria) - The European Union Court declared itself not competent on Friday in Luxembourg for the Slovenian lawsuit against Croatia due to alleged violation of European law caused by the non-implementation of the arbitration decision on the border.

With this decision, the Court accepted Croatia's objection of incompetence, and the proceedings are automatically suspended. Decisions of the EU Court are final and not subject to appeal.

Slovenia initiated proceedings against Croatia based on Article 259 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and proposed that the EU Court determine whether Croatia is violating Articles 2 and 4 of the Treaty, which concern respect for the rule of law and loyal cooperation among EU member states. Slovenia also claims that Croatia is violating the regulation on the common fisheries policy, Schengen rules on the movement of persons, and directives on maritime spatial planning, Hina writes.

Croatia filed an objection of incompetence because it believes the EU Court is not competent to decide on Slovenia's claims in the mentioned proceedings, given that the dispute between the two countries is not actually about the application and interpretation of EU law, which would fall under the jurisdiction of the European Union Court. Croatia believes that this case involves a dispute concerning the interpretation and application of international law, which should be resolved by applying the rules of international law and the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for that purpose, including negotiations.