Germany is being called before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague as a sole respondent for the first time. The Special Commissioner and Agent of the Principality of Liechtenstein for the case, the Düsseldorf attorney-at-law Dr. Alexander Goepfert from the international law-firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, filed an application to the Court this morning against the Federal Republic of Germany for persistent violation of international law since 1998.

The background to this action involves Germany's treatment of Liechtenstein property located in the territory of former Czechoslovakia. Following a German court ruling pronounced in 1998, this property is treated as German external assets and can be used for payment of Germany's war-reparation debts. Germany has so far denied Liechtenstein any compensation. The International Court of Justice, the United Nation's principal judicial organ, is now called upon to declare that Germany has violated the rules of international law. The application to the ICJ complains that Germany has disregarded the sovereignty of Liechtenstein – a sovereign state since 1806 which remained neutral through both world wars – and has violated the property rights of Liechtenstein nationals. Moreover, the application states that Germany has failed to compensate Liechtenstein and its citizens.

Liechtenstein is therefore requesting the ICJ to hold the Federal Republic of Germany liable under international law and to order that Germany is to pay compensation for the damages and losses suffered.

To safeguard its sovereign rights and to protect its citizens' interests, the Principality of Liechtenstein feels that it has no other choice but to resort to the International Court of Justice, as two years of diplomatic consultations were to no avail in shifting the German federal government from its position of refusing even to enter into negotiations with Liechtenstein. The Principality's government took the decision to make an application to the ICJ on 23 January 2001.

The parties most directly affected are a number of Liechtenstein families whose property in the territory of former Czechoslovakia was confiscated without compensation under the "Beneš-Decrees" after the end of World War II. The property concerned includes a considerable amount of land and forestry, houses and castles including their contents, works of art, and businesses.

In the diplomatic consultations that have taken place, Germany's federal government has reaffirmed its view that the property of Liechtenstein citizens confiscated by the ruling powers in Czechoslovakia at the time should be treated as German-owned assets outside Germany, which means that it could be used to help settle Germany's war-reparation debts. Germany's Department for Foreign Affairs bases this position on a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of 28 January 1998.

The admissibility of the application to the International Court of Justice derives from the European Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes of 1957, to which both Germany and Liechtenstein are parties without reservation. The terms of the Convention came into force between the two states on 18 February 1980.

To assure a forceful presentation of the claims being made by the state and its citizens, Liechtenstein has appointed a distinguished team of counsels. Dr. Alexander Goepfert, the Special Commissioner and Agent for the case, will be supported by a number of renowned experts in the field of international law, including Professor Dr. James Crawford of Cambridge (Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission of the United Nations on questions of "state responsibility"), Professor Dr. Gerhard Hafner of the University of Vienna, and Professor Dr. Dieter Blumenwitz of the University of Würzburg.

The Principality of Liechtenstein will also exercise its right to appoint a "judge ad hoc" to join the 15-member court at the ICJ for the duration of its proceedings. The person nominated for this task is Professor Dr. Ian Brownlie of Oxford, who has acted as a counsel or advocate in a number of disputes brought before the ICJ.

Vaduz/The Hague, 1 June 2001

Note for journalists and editors:
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact:

The press office of the Special Commissioner and Agent
of the Principality of Liechtenstein for the case brought
before the International Court of Justice
Dr. Alexander Goepfert