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Croatia & Montenegro Seek Dispute Ruling
| 13 March 2008 |
Podgorica _ The prime ministers of Montenegro and Croatia have agreed that The International Court of Justice, ICJ, should rule in a dispute over their maritime border, a Podgorica daily reported Thursday.
Montenegrin Premier Milo Djukanovic and his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Sanader agreed during a meeting in Zagreb, that if their respective parliaments agree, the two countries would accept a ruling by The Hague-based ICJ .
The ICJ’s final say will replace a temporary protocol the two countries signed in 2002, when Montenegro was still a part of the two-member Yugoslav federation.
The latest deal between the two prime ministers recognised that previous attempts to solve the disputed sea border in the Adriatic Sea separating the two countries near Croatia's Prevlaka peninsula and the exit from the Montenegro's Bay of Kotor, have failed.
Djukanovic and Sanader did not mention any time framework within which their countries’ parliaments should decide on accepting the ICJ ruling in advance.
An expert group will now prepare the “legal framework for the issue” which is then to be presented to the ICJ.
Djukanovic was quoted as saying he hoped that a final solution would be fair and would contribute to even better relations between Montenegro and Croatia.
Source: Vijesti / Balkan Insight
