Legal Status of Seaports in the Republic of Slovenia

Slovenia has been managing its national ports since the end of the World War II.   From then on we have known three types of port management: 1. traditional management (1945 - 1960); 2. commercially based management(1960 - 2008); 3. commercially based management with the State as controlling (since 2008 – onwards). 1. First period: Port management was based on more or less the same principles as all over the world. Ports were managed by port captaincies, responsible for port operations and maintenance. 2. Second period: It started in 1961, with the adoption of the »Act on Utilization of Ports«. The main characteristics of the Act were: management of ports was transferred to local communities obliged to turn over management of ports and performance of port activities to commercial companies, whenever possible,

Consequences of such system: large ports with enough operations to survive on the market started to run their activities as commercial companies; ports operated by commercial companies were no longer dependant on taxpayers’ money; ports that acted as commercial companies took an active role in decision-making on investments in port infrastructure, more adapted to the market demands (whereas ports financed by taxpayers had many problems in this area).

Other points: In 1996 the »Act on Ports« was adopted, with minimal changes in comparison to the previous »Act on Utilization of Ports« , since it only transferred port-related responsibilities from the former Yugoslavia to the Republic of Slovenia; In 2001 the »Maritime Code« was adopted. Its main characteristics are: status of port infrastructure: Port infrastructure shall be property of the Republic of Slovenia or of the local community or private-law entities. The Republic of Slovenia or local community shall transfer the administration, management and development of the port infrastructure to a port operator by granting a concession. definition of port types: ports open to a public traffic, special-purpose ports, naval ports, definition of a port manager role: The port operator must organise the operation of the port in such a way as to guarantee safe navigation and the protection of the environment and waters, and shall perform the activities necessary for the smooth running of the port for the purposes intended (pilotage, towage of ships, provision of stevedoring services, etc.). definition of port public services (maintenance of port infrastructure, receipt of ship-generated waste, navigation safety, pilotage, towage of ships), their performance and financing, In regard to the port management, most of the conditions were already established in the »Act on Utilization of Ports«.

3. Third period: The last period of port management started with the adoption of: »Decree on the administration of the Freight port of Koper, port operations, and on granting concession for the administration, management, development and regular maintenance of its infrastructure«. Port of Koper is the only large commercial port in Slovenia, which has only 42 kilometres of seacoast, and as such it determines very strongly the Slovenian policy regarding port management. Typically, the Decree delegates many responsibilities related to port management to the Republic of Slovenia, whereas, in the past, those operations were managed by commercial companies. According to the Article 5 of the Decree, the Republic of Slovenia has the following tasks and duties: to ensure safe navigation in the port area; to provide for smooth operation of the port; to take care that in the port area port operations are provided continuously; to take care of the acquisition of water rights required for the operation of the port; to conclude public-private concession partnerships for the performance of services constituting port operations;

to ensure the provision of public utility services from Article 44 of Maritime Code, to lease land in the port area which is owned by the Republic of Slovenia for operating the public-private partnerships referred to in the preceding two indents, and establish real rights on third party property on that land for this purpose; to provide for the management of the port infrastructure and manage the port infrastructure intended for public transport; to provide for the satisfaction of the required defence and safety needs and the needs related to civil protection and disaster relief, in accordance with this Agreement; to provide berths and the use of the necessary operational port infrastructure for the berthing of special-purpose vessels and the storage or positioning of intervention equipment in the event of sudden marine pollution, in accordance with this Agreement; to supervise implementation of the concessions granted on the basis of the Concession Decree; to prescribe conditions for safe transport and maintenance of order in the port by adopting a Port Order; to prescribe conditions for the use of the port in providing transport and other port or economic activities within the port area; to provide control over the condition of port infrastructure and keep records of port infrastructure; To ensure the development of the port under the conditions referred to in provision 7.9 of this Agreement.

Nevertheless, some operations are still carried out by the company that performs commercial activities in the Port of Koper. This company is Luka Koper, d.d., which acquired the first concession on the basis of the Art. 997 of the Maritime Code.  According to the Article 8 of the Decree, the Republic of Slovenia has the following tasks and duties:   coordination of operations for smooth provision of transhipment services, warehousing and storage and internal movement of goods; coordination of operations for fluent maritime passenger transport; care for supply and handling of devices and equipment for the performance of activities required for smooth operation of the port; care for maintenance of order in the port (security, traffic, fire protection, safety at work, etc.); concern for environmental protection covering the provision of all prescribed safety measures for the prevention of marine pollution and the extension of liquid spills in large quantities at sea, and planning and implementation of measures related to port operations in a manner causing the least possible environmental burden; concern for clean land and water area in the port (coordination of activities for smooth provision of the prescribed measures of waste management and activities related to the provision of the public utility service of collecting waste from vessels); concern for the performance of defence and security tasks or tasks related to civil protection and disaster relief, or support for these tasks with regard to the response of the state to accidents or crisis situations or the fulfilment of international obligations of the state adopted by international organisations or on the basis of international treaties in accordance with this Agreement.

Future: In Slovenia, there are many discussions about port management and there are very strong tendencies to establish a port authority. Advantages: much easier to acquire support from cohesion funds and other public funds, because a port authority is not a commercial company; Disadvantages: A port authority is a state-owned enterprise, which is not directly engaged in the market and may not base all its decisions on market demand. This currently presents problems to many ports in the EU; Much greater influence of politics on the port.

Hvala za pozornost! www.luka-kp.si