Inmunidad en el derecho internacional: un lento proceso de evolución. Comentario a la sentencia de la Corte Internacional de Justicia en el caso de Alemania vs. Italia, 2012

Abstract

On February 3, 2012, the International Court of Justice issued a judgment in the case of Germany v. Italy, known as the Jurisdictional Immunities of the State. By majority, the Court upheld Germany’s claim against Italy. The origin of this case was that Italian tribunals allowed civil tort claims to be brought against the German State and to declare Greek judgments against Germany enforceable in Italy. The International Court of Justice upheld the traditional principle of State jurisdictional immunity, while Italy highlighted the special features of the facts underlying the respective judicial proceedings. Indeed, Italy argued that the gross human rights violations and serious breaches of humanitarian law lifted the state jurisdictional immunity. The Court did not support this reasoning. Notwithstanding, the dissenting opinions raise various relevant issues. Thus, it is noteworthy to assess whether the judgment applies a formalistic and state-centered approach of international law rather than a material one, which put the human being at the heart of its concerns.