On human dignity and State sovereignty: The Italian Constitutional Court's 238/2014 judgment on State immunity for international crimes

Judgment 238/2014 of the Italian Constitutional Court has flatly contravened the decision of the ICJ on Jurisdictional Immunity of States (Germany v. Italy: Greece intervening) of 2012, ruling that the customary norm on State immunity from civil suits before a foreign court as ascertained in the ICJ decision never entered the domestic legal order, because it is incompatible with core principles of the Italian Constitution. In execution of the Constitutional Court ruling, in 2015, some Italian tribunals have condemned Germany to pay damages to former Italian military internees victim of international crimes during World War II, thus integrating an international wrongful act on the part of Italy. The 238/2014 judgment has been criticised from many angles. Much criticism was addressed to its alleged dualist approach that seemed to insulate Italy. The paper argues that the 2014 judgment of the Italian court is rather a reasoned response to the ICJ decision, grounded on principles common to the Italian and the international law, and a call for a consistent application of State obligations concerning the effective implementation of human rights. From this perspective it constitutes a valuable contribution towards a principled and open-minded debate over the structure and function of international law