Page 85 - AEI Insights 2018 Vol 4 Issue 1

Bajrektarević et al, 2018

the waters of Bosnia and Herzegovina by vessel to the High Seas, it is necessary to pass through
the internal waters and the territorial sea of the other coastal state, so that, in crossing the line
that represents the outer boundary of the territorial sea, one leaves the sovereign territory of the
Republic of Croatia. Further into the High Seas, the Croatian Protected Ecological and Fishing
Band (ZERP) has been declared and covers the sea area in the Adriatic Sea from the external
border of the territorial sea in the direction of the open sea to its outer boundary, determined
by the general international law, and temporarily follows the line of demarcation of the
continental shelf established by the Agreement between Italy and the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between the two
Countries in the Adriatic Sea from 1968.

In fact, it is essential for Bosnia and Herzegovina to secure a specific route, that is to say, a
corridor, which will physically connect its waters with the High Seas, since it is in an
unfavorable geographic position, due to its sealed coastline. At this level, it is state practice to
support coastal states to limit the width of their territorial sea, due to the undisputed flow or
passage of the other coastal state to the High Seas, in accordance with the above-mentioned
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which represents a codification of this branch of
international law. Examples of this are the Republics of Estonia and Finland in the Gulf of
Finland in the Baltic Sea, in relation to the Russian Federation (St. Petersburg area), and the
Republic of France in relation to the territorial sea of the Principality of Monaco in the
Mediterranean Sea.

Hence, Bosnia and Herzegovina should not accept the guarantee of the neighboring state that
Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the right only to innocent passage for all vessels to and from
Neum or, in the case of some other ports in the state territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, since
Neum is extremely unconducive to the construction of a larger port which would be open to
international traffic - we predict that a port of this type and category could be built on the Klek
Peninsula, whose waters are much more suitable, especially in respect of access and sea depth,
for the construction of an international port. This is because the right to innocent passage of a
vessel is linked to the territorial sea, not to the internal waters of the coastal state. This should
have been precisely defined in accordance with the principles and rules of international law,
preferably by a bilateral international agreement between the two neighboring states, namely,
the existence, the position, the proper width and the legal regime of such a corridor or
waterway, which would probably be through the Neretva and the Korčula Channel, to move all
vessels to and from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The legal regime of such a corridor should be
explicitly articulated in writing, together with the rights and obligations of both contracting
parties, all in accordance with international law.

Therefore, it could be understood that there is a noticeable difference between the right to
innocent passage of foreign ships through the territorial sea of a coastal state and the formation
of a corridor with a special legal regime. The latter would most likely pass through Croatian
territory, as it would be unrealistic to expect that the Republic of Croatia in the area of such a
corridor remains without its territorial sovereignty and integrity. This is regardless of the fact
that it not very legally rightly inherited from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, by
its Maritime Code, the straight baselines under the conditions of more sovereign states whose
coastlines are touched and lean on one another in the same sea area. Namely, the disputed area
in terms of the declaration of these straight baselines is from theCape Proizd (near the island
of Korčula) all the way to the southwestern tip of the island of Vodnjak, near some of the more
famous Paklinski islands (along the island of Hvar), as this act simply contributed to the
"closure" of Bosnian and Herzegovinian waters. We have written "most likely to pass" since it

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