Letter to the Registrar dated 4 May 2011 from
the Agent of the Hellenic Republic
[Translation]
I have the honour, on behalf of my Government, to inform you of the following:
1. The Government of the Hellenic Republic acknowledges receipt of your letter dated
5April2011 indicating the time-limitof 6May2011set by the Court for Greece to file its
observations in reply to the Observations of Germany and Italy on Greece’s Application for
permission to intervene in the case concerning Jurisdictional Immunities of the State
(Germany v. Italy), filed on 13 January 2011 pursuant to Article 62 of the Statute of the Court.
2. Having regard to the Observations of th e two Parties (Italy’s letter of 22March2011 and
Germany’s reply of 23March2011) on Greece’s re quest for leave to intervene, the Hellenic
Republic wishes to draw the attention of the Court to the following:
3. The Hellenic Republic expresses its satisfacti on at the position taken by the two Parties
regarding the granting of its Application for permission to intervene. It wishes to thank Italy
and Germany for not having voiced any formal objections in this regard.
4. The Hellenic Republic, by its A pplication of 13January 2011, expressed its wish to intervene
in the case between Germany and Italy in a di spute concerning the enforcement within the
Italian legal order of first instance and appeal judgments rendered by the Italian and Greek
courts, which Germany claims to be in viola tion of its jurisdictional immunity, regarding
reparations to individual victim s of violations of international human rights committed by the
Third Reich during the Second World War.
One of Germany’s complaints focuses on the en forcement in Italy of the judgment of the
Protodikeio/Regional Court of Livadia(1997), confirmed by the Areios Pagos /Court of
Cassation (4 May 2000), in the Distomo case, which held the German State liable to
compensate Greek nationals who were the victims of a massacre perpetrated at Distomo in
Greece by German armed forces in 1944.
The Hellenic Republic wishes to emphasize and assure the Court that its intention to intervene
in no way seeks to broaden the scope of the dispute between the Parties in the present case.
The aim of the Application for permission to intervene is not to acquire the status of a party,
but quite simply, on the one hand to preserve a nd protect its legal rights and interests, and on
the other hand to inform the Court of the nature and content of those legal rights and interests.
Furthermore, its Application for permission to intervene is in no way intended to delay the
conduct and progress of the current proceedings.
5. Greece considers that it has a real interest of a legal nature in this case which justifies its
intervention. Greece’s rights and interests could indeed be affected by the judgment of the
Court. The ICJ’s decision will, inter alia, establish whether a judgment handed down by a
Greek court can be enforced on Italian territory (having regard to Germany’s jurisdictional
immunity). It is precisely in relation to this aspect of the case that Greece’s interest of a legal
nature is apparent; it represents a solid basi s for its Request to intervene and satisfies the
conditions laid down by Article 62 of the ICJ Statute.
6. Greece’s legal interest lies in the fact that one of the elements at issue in this case revolves
around the enforcement of a decision of a Greek judicial body (Protodikeio/Regional Court of - 2 -
Livadia) ⎯ a judicial body operating within the legal order established under the sovereignty of
the Greek State. This judgment, which addresses grave violations of humanitarian law
perpetrated on Greek territory, gives satisfaction to the Distomo victims— Greek nationals—
who have an interest in seeking to have this judgment in their favour enforced. Hence a Greek
judicial body and Greek nationals lie at the hear t of the Italian enforcement proceedings and of
the conflict between enforcement and immunity.
In consequence, the Court’s decision as to whether judgments ⎯ Italian and Greek ⎯ may be
enforced in Italy is directly and primarily of in terest to Greece and could affect the interests of
a legal nature, in particular regarding pers ons of Greek nationality, enjoyed by Greece under
general international law.
7. The Hellenic Republic considers, in the event that its Request for leave to intervene were to be
granted by the Court, that it could contribute to the sound administration of justice by clarifying
its views on the aspects of the proceedings concer ning the judgment of the Greek courts sought
to be enforced in Italy, as well as on Greece’s approach to the issue of State immunity, and to
developments in that regard in recent years, when the Court comes to address the question of
jurisdictional immunity and State responsibility, as presented by the Parties in the present case.
8. For the above reasons, and while reserving its right to make further representations and/or
arguments, should the Court decide that this is necessary, the Hellenic Republic respectfully
requests the Court to authorize its interventi on in the current proceedings between Germany
and Italy.
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Observations of Greece in reply to the Written Observationsof Germany and Italy