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Immunity in International Law: A Slow Process of Evolution. Comment on the Judgment of the Interntional Court of Justice in the Case of Germany v. Italy, 2012

Authors

  • Gonzalo Aguilar Cavallo
Vol. 2 No. 4 (2013): 2º semestre
https://doi.org/10.5354/rti.v2i4.30136

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.

Keywords:

international law, human rights, ius cogens, state immunity, access to justice, effective access to the right to redress

Author Biography

Gonzalo Aguilar Cavallo

Abogado (Chile), Doctor en Derecho (España), Magíster en Relaciones Internacionales (España), Master en Derechos Humanos y Derecho Humanitario (Francia). Postdoctorado en el Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Heidelberg, Alemania). Profesor de Derecho Constitucional, Internacional y Ambiental de la Universidad de Valparaíso (Valparaíso, Chile) y de la Universidad Andrés Bello (Santiago, Chile).

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How to Cite
Aguilar Cavallo, G. (2013). Immunity in International Law: A Slow Process of Evolution. Comment on the Judgment of the Interntional Court of Justice in the Case of Germany v. Italy, 2012. Revista Tribuna Internacional, 2(4), pp. 113–138. https://doi.org/10.5354/rti.v2i4.30136
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Revista Tribuna Internacional
Facultad de Derecho
Universidad de Chile
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