📋 Tender Overview
Today, the Government determined the text of the Bill on Amendments to the Act on Regulation of Certain Issues due to the final ruling of the arbitration court on the basis of the Arbitration Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia and sent it for consideration and adoption by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia following a shortened procedure.
The Act on the regulation of certain issues due to the final award of the arbitration court on the basis of the Arbitration Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: ZUVRAS) was adopted with the aim that due to the announcement of the final award in the arbitration between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia regarding determining the border on land and sea between the two countries regulates the preservation of certain rights of the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia and establishes some new rights. The purpose of ZUVRAS is to implement the principle of equal treatment of citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, whose rights and obligations were affected by the ruling, so that the rights they enjoyed until the pronouncement of the ruling are preserved to the greatest extent possible, for those rights of which they are deprived, and introduces appropriate compensation. ZUVRAS began to be used when the state border between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia was recorded in the state border register on the basis of the ruling, i.e. on December 30, 2017.
State aid is of great importance to commercial fishermen directly affected by the arbitration award. Due to the constant presence of foreign vessels in the sea of ??the Republic of Slovenia, which hinder the regular commercial fishing of Slovenian fishermen, they still have a loss of regular income. The proposed ZUVRAS amendment for commercial fishing license holders stipulates that if they meet the prescribed conditions, they are entitled to compensation for loss of income in accordance with section 3.6 II. part of the Guidelines on state aid in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (UL LC No. 107 of 23 March 2023, p. 1). It is about liquidity assistance to companies in the sector in responding to circumstances that threaten their viability.
The draft law also defines legal aid for fishermen (natural or legal persons who are citizens of the Republic of Slovenia or have their registered office in the Republic of Slovenia and are holders of commercial fishing permits) and defines the competent authorities for providing legal aid, in accordance with the provisions of the Government Act.
From December 2017 to January 2024, in accordance with the arbitration award, more than 3,500 fines were brought against Slovenian fishermen (owners or co-owners of fishing vessels and their companies) by the authorities of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian police and Croatian fisheries inspectorate) procedures. By January 2024, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia rejected more than 1,050 appeals from Slovenian fishermen, which means that all legal means were used in these procedures in the Republic of Croatia.
For this reason, with the proposed amendment to ZUVRAS, with the aim of protecting Slovenian fishermen in these procedures, the provisions regarding legal assistance to fishermen in Article 21 of ZUVRAS are appropriately supplemented and amended.
