Macedonia, Greece Court Case Enters Decisive Stage

Given the court’s previous practice, observers say that with this hearing the case is entering an important final stage and that the judges may deliver their judgement in about six months, or by the end of the year at the latest.

Macedonia sued Greece at the ICJ for blocking its accession to NATO in 2008 over the countries' unresolved name dispute.

Skopje argues that the blockade violates its rights under the 1995 United Nations-brokered Interim Accord that regulated relations between the two states, in which Greece agreed not to block the accession of its neighbour to international organisations.

The Greek side argues that Macedonia was the one that broke the accord by taking a hard line stance over the name issue and stealing its history by renaming airports, highways and sport arenas with names of heroes from the Greek antiquity.

The March hearing is expected to last some ten days, during which time both sides will present their arguments before the court.

Toni Deskoski, a Macedonian law professor who was involved in the case on the Macedonian side, said that although the proceedings in the court are not directly linked to the ongoing name dispute between the two countries, the decision of the court will give significant political capital to the winning party.

"From a political perspective, a court decision in favour of Macedonia would significantly influence its ability to turn Greece back towards the points of the interim agreement,” he explained.

Established in 1945, the ICJ's main function is to settle legal disputes between states. Its rulings are final and cannot be appealed, but the court has no instruments to make countries comply.

Skopje and Athens have been locked in the dispute over the name Macedonia for almost two decades. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name - Republic of Macedonia - indicates Skopje’s territorial claims against Greece's own northern province, which is also called Macedonia.

The row escalated in 2008 when Greece blocked NATO from extending a membership invitation to Macedonia over the unresolved issue, after which Macedonia decided to sue. The court process started in January 2009.

In late 2009, Athens' objections over the name prevented the EU from extending a start date for Skopje’s accession talks with the bloc, despite previous recommendation from the European Commission for the negotiations to start.

The two sides have so far failed to solve the dispute through the UN brokered name talks aimed at reaching a compromise name for Macedonia that would be acceptable for both countries.

The most recent meeting, which observers said was a mere formality without any real substance, was held on Wednesday in New York.