Germany has initiated proceedings against Italy before the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague because Rome continues to allow victims of Nazi war crimes to seek compensation from the German state even after a previous ruling according to which such requests violated international law.
Germany’s request to the International Court, posted on the court’s website on Friday, argues that Italy continues to allow claims for damages to be filed in domestic courts, despite a 2012 court ruling in Berlin.
According to the German government, since the 2012 ruling there have been more than 25 new compensation claims filed in Italy against the German state for damages resulting from Nazi crimes during World War II. In many of these cases, the courts have ordered Germany to pay compensation. To meet the demands in two of these cases, Italian courts are seeking to seize property in Rome owned by the German state.
Germany says it has brought the case to court now because an Italian court will decide by May 25 whether to approve the sale of the buildings, some of which house German cultural, archaeological, historical and educational institutions.
Berlin has asked the court to take so-called interim measures to ensure that Italy does not publicly auction the property while the litigation is ongoing. It usually takes years for the International Court of Justice to issue a final decision.