Permanent Court of Arbitration

Ahead of an announced decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Thursday on the dispute over territorial waters between Croatia and Slovenia, Croatia has made it clear it will not accept the ruling.

China has increased military presence in the South China Sea (SCS).The Red Army recently deployed a rocket launcher in disputed Fiery Cross Reef. The Chinese state-run media reported over the weekend that Beijing made the move in order to counter the Vietnamese aggression.

A press release issued on behalf of the tribunal by the Permanent Court of Arbitration said that the tribunal had informed Slovenia and Croatia by letter on 29 March that there was no need for any further submissions from the parties in respect of the merits of the case.

In a victory for Moscow, a Dutch court on April 20 overturned an order that Russia pay $50 billion to shareholders in defunct oil company Yukos, saying that the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration had no jurisdiction. 

Representatives of Croatia and Slovenia will meet again at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, PCA, in The Hague on Thursday to try and resolve their issues over maritime borders in the Piran Gulf, off the two neighbouring countries' coasts - a dispute that dates back to the break-up of Yugoslavia.

With all 141 MPs present, the Croatian parliament voted against the arbitration agreement with Slovenia at a special session on Wednesday, unanimously backing the stance of the country's government.

Croatian legal experts argued on Tuesday that Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic would be able to go through with his decision to suspend the international arbitration process with Slovenia over the contested Piran Gulf off the two neighbouring countries' coasts.

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic scheduled a meeting for Monday with the heads of all 13 parliamentary groups to update them after Zagreb said last week that it may pull out of international arbitration with Slovenia over the Piran Gulf following revelations of secret conversations between a judge and the Slovene representative.

The Philippines argued at a closed hearing on July 7 that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over the right to exploit natural resources and fish in the South China Sea. 

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the former shareholders of the former oil concern Yukos are to receive a EUR 1.9 B compensation from Russia.

This is the second sentence Russia has faced over the nationalization of Yukos in just a few days.

Moscow has seriously pushed down the value of the enterprise with fantasy taxes and a manipulated auction, the court found.