Germany files case against Italy in UN court over war reparations

Germany has filed a case against Italy at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over war reparations related to World War II, the Hague-based UN court said.

The filing referred back to a 2012 decision by the UN court that determined civil claims by Nazi victims could not be brought against Germany in foreign courts.

Italy’s supreme court had judged in 2008 that an Italian civilian was entitled to reparations after his deportation to Germany in 1944 to work as a slave labourer. The ICJ ruled that Italy must ensure that decisions of its courts that infringe on German immunity cease to have effect.

But in the new filing, Germany alleges that several new cases have been brought against the country in Italian courts seeking reparations in relation to Nazi war crimes during World War II.

Germany has asked the court to require Italy to ensure its courts “no longer entertain civil claims brought against Germany based on violations of international humanitarian law committed by the German Reich between 1943 and 1945.”

Germany also accused Italy of taking or threatening to take German state-owned properties in Italy.

Berlin had argued in the 2012 case that the Italian ruling threw into doubt a restitution system put in place after the Nazis’ defeat that has seen Germany pay tens of billions in reparations since the 1950s.

The International Court of Justice is the principal UN judicial organ established in 1945.