“Plus Ça Change, Plus C’est la Même Chose”: State Immunity and International Crimes in Judgment No. 20442/2020 of the Corte di Cassazione

Abstract

The Corte di Cassazione, with judgment No. 20442/2020, faced again the issue of German compensations for the victims of international crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich, ruling that immunity of Germany cannot be recognized in claims brought by the victims, or by their heirs, before the Italian courts. At first reading, the decision seems not to have added anything new to the domestic case law in Italy following judgment No. 238/2014 of the Corte Costituzionale. However, an in-depth analysis shows that there are two key points expressed by the Corte di Cassazione: the due effect of judgment No. 238/2014 and the overlap of the arguments used in the Italian judgments after 238/2014 and those prior to ICJ Judgment of 3 February 2012. At any rate, the problem of German compensation is still far from being resolved. The only way to reach the longed-for diplomatic solution would be a judgment similar to 238/2014 on the immunity of States’ properties from measures of constraint.