Germany is suing Italy in the top UN court in the latest round of long-standing dispute over Nazi compensation claims, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) revealed on Friday.
In its application Germany claims that Rome has continued to allow Nazi war crime victims to file requests for compensation from Berlin, even though in 2012 the ICJ ruled that it is illegal. In the claimant’s view, by doing so Italy “has violated, and continues to violate, its obligation to respect Germany’s sovereign immunity.”
Germany therefore argues that Rome must “take effective steps” to prevent such “violations” from happening in the future, to provide all relevant guarantees, “to make full reparation” for any injury caused, and to cover “any financially assessable injury resulting from proceedings conducted.”
Berlin says that it is aware of at least 25 Third Reich crimes-related cases which have been brought against Germany in Italian domestic courts since the 2012 court decision. Some of the proceedings resulted in rulings ordering Germany to pay compensation. To enforce the rulings, Italian authorities have been trying to seize four German state-owned properties in Rome, including buildings housing the German Archaeological Institute and the Goethe Institute.