U.N. Court Rules against Italy in Nazi War Claims Row

The U.N.'s highest court ordered Italy Friday to annul all compensation claims against Germany for Nazi war crimes, saying Rome breached international laws when its courts allowed the claims to be made.

But it encouraged dialogue between the two European Union members to resolve their dispute stemming from the actions of German troops in Italy during World War II.

The Italian republic "violated its obligations to respect the immunity which Germany enjoys under international law by allowing civil claims based on violations committed by the German Reich between 1943 and 1945," ICJ judge Hisashi Owada told a public hearing.

"The Italian republic must, by enacting appropriate legislation, or by ... other methods, ensure the decisions of its courts infringing the immunity which Germany enjoys under international law cease to have effect."

The two European Union members have been locked in a legal battle since December 2008, when Germany filed an application before the ICJ after an avalanche of lawsuits by Italian relatives and widows for abuses by Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

The cases sought compensation for deportations of Italians and other acts by German troops in Italy after Rome quit the Axis and joined the Allies in September 1943.

Berlin said that by permitting claims for abuses that occurred between September 1943 and May 1945, Italy "failed to respect the jurisdictional immunity" that modern-day Germany enjoys under international law.

Italy on the other hand, argued that the cases were admissible as abuses committed by German troops amounted to "serious violations of humanitarian law" and were "international crimes" which had precedence over state immunity.

During the hearing at ICJ headquarters in The Hague, Owada said however that a state's immunity "is a fundamental principle of international legal order."

Germany on Friday welcomed the ruling, with its main representative Susanne Wasum-Rainer telling Agence France Presse: "We think it is a very important decision for all states to have a judgment on state immunity."

Owada said Germany had taken "significant steps" to compensate Italian victims of the Third Reich, but it excluded prisoners of war from compensation.

"The court considers the matter with surprise and regret that Germany denied compensation to this group of victims," Owada said.

He added the dispute "could be the subject of further negotiations in resolving the issues," a point taken up immediately by Rome.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Italy respects the ICJ ruling, even though it was not in line with Rome's stance.

He added however that "the sentence provides a useful clarification, especially considering the court's reference to the importance of negotiators to work with both sides to find a solution."

"Italy intends to continue, as it has done up to now, to address with Germany all the aspects tied to the painful events in World War II through dialogue," Terzi said.

The row between the two countries began when Luigi Ferrini, who was deported as a forced laborer to Germany in August 1944, claimed compensation from the German government.

A 2004 Italian Supreme Court decision in his favor led to a flurry of claims by relatives and widows of Nazi war crimes victims, which Germany has refused to meet.

Also before the ICJ as a non-party state was Greece, because of victims of a 1944 German massacre at Distomo, in which 218 people were killed.

Relatives of the Greek massacre victims re-filed a case before Italian courts, after a Greek court failed to enforce a ruling for Germany to pay 28.6 million euros in compensation to the plaintiffs.

An Italian court however enforced the original ruling.

Berlin has also consistently refused to compensate the Distomo claimants, saying the case had been settled between the two countries in 1960.

The ICJ concluded decisions by Italian courts in the Distomo case constituted "a violation by Italy to respect Germany's jurisdictional immunity."

Established in 1945, the ICJ is the U.N.'s highest court and settles disputes between states.