Through this decision, the United Sections of the Court of Cassation confirmed that Germany does not enjoy exemption from Italy’s civil jurisdiction in the proceedings brought against it by Italian citizens who suffered damage in consequences of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Italian territory by members of the Third Reich. In the case, the Court had to decide on a recourse against a decision declaring the lacking of Italy’s jurisdiction, brought before it by the heirs of Spartaco Gamba and other victims. The United Sections grounded their decision on judgment No. 238 of 2014 of the Constitutional Court. Accordingly, the decision of the International Court of Justice on the case ‘Jurisdictional Immunities of the State’ (Germany v. Italy, 2012), imposing upon Italy an obligation to decline its competence over Germany in accordance with general international law, is not enforceable in Italy because inconsistent with Italian Constitution’s fundamental values.
Judgment of the International Court of Justice, 3 February 2012, Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy: Greece intervening); Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Criminal Section, No. 32139 of 30 May 2012; Law No. 5 of 14 January 2013, Accession of the Republic of Italy to the UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, done in New York on 2 December 2004, and norms for adapting the domestic legal system; Decision of the Constitutional Court No. 238 of 22 October 2014; Decision of the Court of Cassation, United Sections, No. 9097 of 24 march 2015