Croatia News - CroatiaPress.com

Zagreb, March 31 (CP) – The Austrian Adria Beteiligungs GmbH has filed a suit against Croatia at the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague seeking the payment of some €60 in damages.

The Austrian company has allegedly opted for arbitration after Croatia breached the provisions of the investment protection agreement it had closed with Austria.

The direct damage was caused by Hrvatska Lutrija, Croatian lottery company, as it had utilised the Company’s gambling machines, but had not been paying the proceeds as was agreed in the contract.

According to the media, the filing of the suit against Croatia could have been prevented, as the Austrian company’s lawyer had requested a meeting with senior officials in a memo she had forwarded to them in order to discuss a way to solve the problem that had been dragging on for 13 years.

Hrvatska Lutrija had unilaterally severed the agreement with the Austrian firm in 1994 and the damages sought match the money that would have been made had the machines been returned to the Company.

A Croatian lawyer acquainted with the case has said that the Austrians stand little change of winning the court case. The Commercial court had already handed down the ruling in the case ordering that invested money be returned, while damages payment suit is still running at the Commercial court.