Croatia May Quit Arbitration Case over Piran Gulf

The arbitation process between Slovenia and Croatia in the Hague over the waters of the Piran Gulf in Istria was in doubt on Friday, after the Slovene judge on the panel and the Slovenian representative resigned - and after Croatia warned it may back out of the process entirely.

On Wednesday, a Croatian daily newspaper, Vecernji list, revealed transcripts and audio recordings of unauthorised conversations between Jernej Sekolec, the Slovene judge on the court, and Simona Drenik, the Slovene government representative to the court.

In the conversations between the two, which are not permitted, Sekolec revealed confidential conversations between the judges. Sekolec said the court would award Slovenia up to 75 per cent of the waters of the gulf, as Slovenia wants.

Sekolec and Drenik both resigned on Thursday after the Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar demanded that they take responsibility for the scandal.

Cerar told a government session in the morning that the Slovenian government had not been informed of the conversations between the two.

On a four-day visit to Israel, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic on Thursday said the "situation is worrying" and that the scandal had shaken faith in international law.

She said the resignations of Sekolec and Drenik amounted to recognition of the credibility of allegations on the issue.

Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic on Thursday said Croatia was consulting its legal advisors and mulling all options, even quitting the arbitration process.

She said that if Croatia felt the process had been corrupted, it will back out of the arbitration process.

Croatia would then inform the European Commission of the issue, since it helped broker the agreement on...