Of the requested 2.3 billion dollars through arbitrations, Croatia has so far had to pay only ten percent

Of the 19 arbitration disputes, the state has so far lost two, won four, in two cases the state’s liability was established, but no compensation was awarded, four settlements were reached, one procedure was suspended, and six are still unresolved. This is a brief summary of the outcomes of international arbitrations initiated by foreign investors against Croatia. Or expressed in a more universally understandable language of money, through arbitrations, foreign investors have sought damages from Croatia amounting to approximately 2.3 billion dollars, and Croatia has, so far, had to pay about 10 percent of that amount.

So far, this seems to be a surprisingly good score for the state, and in light of these figures, the loss of the dispute with the Hungarian MOL does not sound so terrible. Especially considering that MOL claimed 1.1 billion. Of course, for the Croatian budget, 234 million dollars, which must be paid for the lost arbitration with interest, is not a small amount.

In the case of the dispute with Gavrilović, the only dispute for which, along with MOL, a payment of compensation was determined, the state had to pay the plaintiff even less – instead of the claimed 231.8 million dollars, only 3.2 million dollars was awarded. Gavrilović waited a full six years for this. Even worse were the outcomes for the companies Ulemek, Adria Beteiligung, van Riet, Korsgaard, BE Croatian Currier, and Amlyn, which, despite multi-million claims, did not receive any compensation. In the last two cases, the state’s liability for omissions was even established, but ultimately, no decision was made in favor of either party, nor was any damage compensation awarded.

It is difficult to assess whether the state will fare equally well in the other ongoing disputes, but given the lengthy nature of such proceedings, we will only find out the answer to that question in a few years. Looking retrospectively, it is easy to see that the number of lawsuits has increased in recent years, as well as the amounts that investors are demanding, and there are also several lawsuits that are in the pipeline. Currently, there are even two proceedings initiated by an investor who failed to realize a golf project near Dubrovnik and is seeking as much as half a billion euros, while the son of Srećko Mihaljević, a German investor who bought property from the Gortan company for one million euros in 1993 but has never been able to dispose of it, is seeking a substantial 200 million euros.

There are also two lawsuits from banks regarding the conversion of loans from Swiss francs to euros, Société Générale and Addiko banks, which were the only ones that did not settle with the state last year, while the remaining four banks agreed to a truce with then-Minister of Finance Zdravko Marić. In that deal between the banks and the Government, it was agreed that the banks, in exchange for withdrawing their lawsuits, would receive a reduction in future contributions for deposit insurance.

Which other investors are seeking compensation from the state, which are still trying to find an amicable solution in disputes with the state, and which have managed to reach a settlement, read in the next issue of the printed or digital edition of Lider.