11 – 13 May 2017, Villa Vigoni, Lake Como, Italy
The call is closed now and all applicants have been informed about the results of their application.
The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL), the Istituto di Ricerche sulla Pubblica Amministrazione (IRPA) and Villa Vigoni, German Italian Centre for European Excellence, are pleased to announce the international conference Remedies against Immunity? Reconciling International and Domestic Law after the Italian Constitutional Court’s Sentenza 238/2014.
The conference will take place at Villa Vigoni on the Lake Como, Italy, from 11 May 2017 (9:00 a.m.) to 13 May 2017 (1:30 p.m.).
The Italian Constitutional Court’s judgment 238/2014 created a legal and political deadlock between Germany and Italy. In its ruling the Court refused to accord Germany immunity from Italian jurisdiction in civil proceedings on the compensation of World War II victims as far as it resulted in a disproportionate sacrifice of the victims’ fundamental right of access to a judge. The Italian decision thus indirectly challenged the 2012 judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which had upheld Germany’s entitlement to state immunity.
Since 2015 a series of judgments by several Italian courts have given new life to the case. Courts in Florence, Piacenza and Rome ordered Germany to make reparations to Italian deportation victims and their heirs. At present the quarrel remains at a standstill and numerous similar cases are pending before Italian courts.
Against this backdrop, the aim of the conference is to bring together academics and key players from both sides in an expert forum aimed at jointly identifying and discussing possible solutions to the current impasse and putting academic expertise at the service of interstate dispute resolution, with the aim of suggesting innovative ideas to the political and judicial stakeholders who will participate, as invited audience, in the conference’s last day.
The conference will be restricted to panellists and to a limited number of engaged listeners. Preference in the selection process will be given to young scholars, PhD candidates and postdocs.
If you wish to participate in the audience and contribute to our discussion, please send an application with a short motivation letter explaining your interest in the conference and current research interests (maximum 400 words), along with a copy of your CV to vigoni2017@mpil.de
The deadline for applications is 15 December 2016.
Participation is free of charge. The MPIL and Villa Vigoni will be pleased to cover the cost of board for the selected engaged listeners (three dinners and three lunches).
Please note that travel and accommodation expenses cannot be covered by the organizers.
In order to favour exchange and informal talks also outside the official meetings, all the participants in the conference will be hosted at Villa Vigoni. Admitted engaged listeners must secure their own accommodation and are advised to do this early.
The total amount per person, for three nights at Villa Vigoni (Wednesday 10 – Saturday 13 May 2017) in a single room (bed & breakfast) is:
- 250 euro for students and PhD candidates;
- 300 euro for postdocs, young scholars and other applicants.
A publication of selected contributions to the conference in an edited volume and an accompanying blog are envisaged. Selected engaged listeners are welcome to submit proposals.
Heidelberg, 20 December 2016
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