Recognizing the island of Mamula as a relevant base point could lead to a different, fairer demarcation between Montenegro and Croatia at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, believes an expert in international relations and maritime policy. Samir Hadzic.
"This would reduce the risk of restricting access to the open sea, while preserving the stability and safety of navigation," Hadžić stated in an analysis for the maritime demarcation between Montenegro and Croatia, which he submitted to "Vijesti".
According to international maritime law, the term "base point" denotes a specific point on the coast or island from which the boundary of the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf is measured.
The document suggests that if Mamula is recognized as a relevant point, the demarcation line will not run strictly in the middle between the mainland of Montenegro and Croatia, but will take into account the functional importance of Mamula. This may provide Montenegro with greater access to the bay and waterways.
The document analyzes the maritime demarcation between Montenegro and Croatia in the area of Prevlaka and the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. The goal, as stated, is to explore a possible demarcation model in accordance with international law, especially taking into account the island of Mamula (Lastavica).
Hadžić emphasizes that the work is not a political stance, but rather a legal analysis of the sustainability of potential solutions.
"The analysis shows that the Prevlaka issue cannot be reduced to simply drawing a median line between the two coasts," Hadžić told "Vijesti".
He said that international case law in recent decades clearly confirms that the equidistance (midline) represents only an initial step, while the final demarcation must be the result of an assessment of all relevant geographical circumstances and reaching a fair solution.
"That is precisely why I believe that Montenegro has serious legal arguments to request in future negotiations that the island of Mamula be treated as a relevant base point when determining the maritime border," he explained.
MORE IMPORTANT BENEFITS FOR THE STATE
He believes that such an approach could bring several important benefits to the state. First of all, it would allow the border to be determined in accordance with the actual configuration of the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, and not solely according to mathematical geometry.
"This would avoid the risk that the specific geography of Boka Kotorska would produce a solution that is formally correct, but in practical terms unfavorable for Montenegro," he pointed out.
Secondly, as he stated, recognizing Mamula as a relevant geographical point would contribute to preserving the full maritime projection of Montenegro towards the open Adriatic.
"This is not a question of territorial maximalism, but of the application of the principle of equity, which is one of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," he explained.
As a third benefit, he states that a permanent demarcation based on objective geographical circumstances would increase legal certainty, facilitate maritime space management, and reduce the possibility of future disputes between two friendly and neighboring states.
Hadžić reminds that the special importance of this issue comes to the fore in the context of European integration. Croatia is a member of the European Union, and Montenegro is the furthest advanced in the accession process. Therefore, he says, it is in the interest of both countries that open issues be resolved through international law, dialogue and compromise.
"My analysis does not advocate confrontation with Croatia nor does it challenge its legitimate rights. On the contrary, the proposed model represents an attempt to find a solution that will be fair, legally sustainable, and long-term stable for both states," he said.
At the same time, as he said, the analysis critically examines previous expert approaches that have viewed the issue of demarcation almost exclusively through the geometric principle of equidistance.
Hadžić points out that contemporary international practice shows that such an approach is not sufficient if it ignores relevant geographical circumstances and leads to disproportionate consequences.
"I believe that the time has come for the issue of Prevlaka to return to the focus of the professional public, but not through political messages and historical disputes, but through arguments of international law, maritime geography and the common interest of Montenegro and Croatia to finally close this issue to mutual benefit," said Hadžić.
He sent the analysis to the presidents of the state, the government and the parliament, Jakov Milatović, Andrija Mandić i Milojko Spajić, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimović.
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIRNESS IS OFTEN REQUIRED
The analysis recalls that the issue of demarcation between Montenegro and Croatia in the Prevlaka area represents one of the last remaining open bilateral issues on the eastern coast of the Adriatic.
Prevlaka is located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. After the war conflicts of the 1990s, control over the disputed border zone on Prevlaka was taken over by United Nations observers - from 1996 to 2002. That year, a Protocol on a Temporary Border Regime was established, according to which Croatia has the mainland part of the peninsula and a sea zone of 550 meters at the entrance to Boka Kotorska, while part of the water area along the left coast of the peninsula was declared "no man's sea". This status has been maintained to this day.
Hadžić states in his analysis that the delimitation of maritime spaces is one of the most sensitive issues in contemporary international law. Although the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes a general normative framework for determining the territorial sea, exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf, the practice of international courts, he says, shows that final solutions are rarely based solely on the mechanical application of geometric methods.
"In situations involving narrow bays, straits, historic waters or protruding islands, the application of the principle of equity and taking into account special geographical circumstances is often required. In such situations, international courts seek to find a balance between the territorial sovereignty of states and the need to preserve the functionality of maritime communication," Hadžić stated in the analysis.
He analyzed arbitration decisions in the Eritrea–Yemen (1998–1999) and Slovenia–Croatia (2017) disputes, as well as relevant jurisprudence of international courts, to examine the possibility of treating Mamula Island as a relevant base point in the demarcation process with Croatia.
The dispute between Eritrea and Yemen concerned sovereignty over islands in the Red Sea and the subsequent delimitation of maritime areas. After a military conflict in 1995, both countries agreed to resolve the dispute through arbitration.
"Of particular importance for this paper is the treatment of the Perim Islands. The Tribunal concluded that certain islands cannot be automatically ignored when demarcating the territory simply because of their size. Instead, the following were analyzed: geographical position, historical function, navigational significance, and effective exercise of state functions," Hadžić stated in the analysis.
Perim, he adds, had a significant influence on the final demarcation, due to its location at the entrance to the sea through Bab al-Mandab.
It emphasizes that the tribunal has not established a rule according to which each island automatically receives full effect.
"However, the case shows that islands located in strategic maritime routes can carry more weight than their physical size," he pointed out.
DISPUTE BETWEEN SLOVENIA AND CROATIA
Hadžić believes that the arbitration dispute between Slovenia and Croatia represents one of the most interesting examples of a functional approach to maritime demarcation.
The main problem, he adds, was the geographical position of Slovenia, which, if equidistance were strictly applied, would be almost completely surrounded by the territorial waters of neighboring states. The tribunal concluded that formal geometry could not be the only criterion. The result was the creation of the so-called “Junction Area”, a special regime that provides Slovenia with a functional connection to the open sea.
"Although the arbitration decision is not a universal precedent, it confirms an important principle: international courts can deviate from strict geometry if necessary to preserve the functionality of maritime communication. This case is relevant because it raises the question of whether any future demarcation should take into account the long-term functionality of access to the high seas," Hadžić wrote.
He also cited the example of the island of Jan Mayen in the case between Norway and Denmark (1993). As he says, the International Court of Justice was faced with the question of the impact of the small island of Jan Mayen on the delimitation, but it did not accept either complete disregard for the island or its full effect. Instead, a compromise approach was applied that aimed to achieve an equitable result.
"This verdict is particularly important for the Mamula issue because it shows that international courts often use a middle ground between two extremes," Hadžić believes.
According to him, none of the analyzed cases provides a direct answer to the Prevlaka issue, but together they represent a useful framework for assessing whether the island of Mamula could be a relevant circumstance in a possible future demarcation process between Montenegro and Croatia.
The most unusual configuration on the eastern coast of the Adriatic
Hadžić points out that, unlike most maritime disputes in which the subject of delimitation is open sea surface, the Prevlaka area is characterized by an extremely complex combination of geographical, historical, security and economic factors.
The geography of the entrance to the Bay of Kotor represents one of the most unusual configurations on the eastern Adriatic coast. The narrow sea passage between the Prevlaka peninsula and the Luštica peninsula represents the only access to the inner system of the bay, which includes Kotor, Tivat, Herceg Novi and several strategically important ports and naval facilities, the analysis says.
Therefore, as it is added, the issue of demarcation in this area is not solely a question of territory, but also a question of the long-term functionality of maritime traffic, navigation safety and management of maritime resources.
"In this context, a special place is occupied by the island of Mamula, located at the very entrance to the bay. Its position makes it a unique geographical element whose potential legal effect deserves a separate analysis," Hadžić believes.
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