Jurisdictional Immunities of the State
| Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy) |
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| Court | International Court of Justice |
| Full case name | Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy: Greece Intervening) |
| Decided | February 3, 2012 |
| Case opinions | |
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Separate Opinion: Abdul Koroma Separate Opinion: Kenneth Keith Separate Opinion: Mohamed Bennouna Dissent: Antônio Trindade Dissent: Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf Dissent: Giorgio Gaja |
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| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Hisashi Owada (President), Peter Tomka (Vice-President), Abdul G. Koroma, Bruno Simma, Ronny Abraham, Kenneth Keith, Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor, Mohamed Bennouna, Leonid Skotnikov, Antônio Trindade, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, Christopher Greenwood, Joan Donoghue, Xue Hanqin, Giorgio Gaja (ad hoc) |
| Keywords | |
Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy: Greece Intervening) was a case concerning the extent of state immunity before the International Court of Justice. The case was brought by Germany after various decisions by Italian courts to ignore the state immunity of Germany when confronted with claims against Germany by victims of Nazi-era war crimes. The court found that Italy was wrong to ignore German immunity, and found that Italy was obligated to render the decisions of its courts against Germany without effect.
The original claims were based on a number of war crimes committed by German troops during World War II. The substance of the facts were not disputed by Germany. A number of international agreements and measures had been passed which purported to waive the claims of the victims involved, or make reparations. For instance, a 1947 peace treaty between Italy and the Allies purported to waive claims by Italian nationals; a 1963 agreement between Germany and Italy again purported to waive claims of Italian nationals for 40m Deutsche marks in compensation. Germany had also passed various laws to effect individual compensation to victims of Nazi era atrocities. However, it is undisputed that the international agreements and the sometimes restrictive language of the compensation laws collectively failed to compensate many victims individually.
Luigi Ferrini was an Italian who was deported from occupied Italy and forced to work in a munitions plant in Germany. During 1998 he instituted proceedings against Germany in lower court at Arezzo. The lower court and then the appeals court denied his claim, on the basis that Germany was entitled to state immunity. However, during 2004 the Italian Court of Cassation reversed this judgment on the grounds that state immunity is lost when international crimes are alleged. On remand, the lower courts entered judgment in favor of Ferrini.
Max Josef Milde was a German soldier, member of the Herman Goering Division, who during 2004 was convicted in absentia for war crimes involving a massacre of civilians in the Italian towns of Civitella in Val di Chiana and San Pancazio. In connection with this conviction, Germany was held jointly and severally liable for damages resulting from this act. The Court of Cassation reaffirmed its reasoning in the Ferrini case by affirming this judgment during 2008.
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