GERMANY CAN NOT BE SUED FOR NAZI ATROCITIES

* THE HAGUE, Netherlands—The U.N.'s highest court confirmed Friday (Feb 3,2012) that Germany has legal immunity from being sued in foreign courts by victims of World War II Nazi atrocities.

* The International Court of Justice said that Italy's Supreme Court violated Germany's sovereignty in 2008 by judging that an Italian civilian, Luigi Ferrini, was entitled to reparations for his deportation to Germany in 1944 to work as a slave laborer in the armaments industry.

* The ruling is expected to stem the flow of civil cases launched against Germany in Italian courts in the aftermath of the Ferrini verdict.
* A wave of compensation claims ensued and as of September last year, there were 80 cases pending with 500 plaintiffs, German lawyers told the ICJ.

* Germany had argued that the Italian ruling threw into doubt a restitution system put in place after the Nazis' defeat that has seen Germany pay tens of billions of dollars in reparations since the 1950s.

* The ICJ is the UN's highest judicial organ and settles disputes between states.

* Its rulings are final and binding on states.

* Greece was also drawn into the dispute after relatives of Greek victims of a massacre in 1944 refiled a case before Italian courts.

* Germany had previously refused to pay compensation to the Greek claimants.

* Although Italy was a German ally during the War, many Italians were deported by Nazi forces, interned in camps and used as slave laborers.