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Two days before the deadline the Greek government decided to file a claim at the International Tribunal in The Hague for compensating the families of the 228 victims of Nazi violence in the village of Distomo. 53 of them were children. The decision was announced by the Greek Prime Minister at a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

George Papandreou stressed the seriousness, the importance and the special symbolism of the call and said in his speech to the ministers that his government had to take into account the "obvious moral, legal and political perspectives, and important issues of paramount national importance and overall national interests especially in this crisis period for Greece." The claim was prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the close cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.

"It is obvious that all our actions aim to serve our national interests. It is our duty to honour the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our country," said the Greek Prime Minister.

By its intervention the Greek state becomes the last party in the case in which the international court will be asked to rule in favour or against the applicability of the exterritoriality clause in the Distomo case. The deadline for submission of all documents and written claims of the parties is January 14, i.e. tomorrow. Then, the tribunal will have to decide when the case will be heard.

The trial in The Hague was initiated by Germany which filed a claim against Italy at the International Tribunal. It decides matters relating to implementation of international agreements as well as to proper or improper interpretation of international law. The Supreme Court in Rome ruled in favour of the 218 victims of the massacre in Distomo, giving them the right to file claims for compensation from Germany in Italy. They could confiscate the property of the German State on the territory of Italy for this purpose.

In response to the Italian Supreme Court order Germany filed a claim at the International Tribunal in The Hague in 2008 aiming to clarify whether and how the privilege of exterritoriality is not applicable to cases in which foreign troops have committed crimes against humanity in another country. The same claim of Germany aims to address the fact that the order of the court in Rome could be implemented in Italy and the relatives of the victims of Distomo could be compensated by confiscating German assets in the country," said attorney Kelly Stamouli who has been dealing with the compensations to the people of Distomo for years.
 
The relatives of the victims who were killed by Nazi soldiers in Distomo in 1944 seek moral and material compensations and have the positive order of the Greek Supreme Court since 2000. It gives the green light to confiscation of German property in Greece. According to the law that dates back to the Ioannis Metaxas dictatorship (1936), the implementation of the order requires the signature of the active minister of justice which has never been put. According to the residents of Distomo, this passive stance is due to political considerations. So, they turned to the Italian justice.

Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis replied to the question asked in the Greek Parliament last month that Greece would intervene in court proceedings in The Hague on condition that neither legal, nor procedural obstacles would occur during the hearing of the case that would lead to rejection of appeal from the outset.

According to attorney Kelly Stamouli, “the Greek government has a position on the matter for the first time. The then-governor of the Viotia area Yannis Stamoulis filed the first claim in 1995 and all governments have been negative ever since then. This negative attitude was especially strong concerning the implementation of the order of the Supreme Court in 2000 when the Minister of Justice had to just put his signature instead of filing claims in Italy. In attempting to enforce the law to the German assets in Greece - Goethe Institute and some other properties of the German state in Thessaloniki - the Justice Minister did not give the necessary permission.”

Greece will submit a request to intervene in the trial under Article 62 of the Statute of the International Tribunal in The Hague, claiming that it has legitimate interest that will be affected by the order in the case. At first the international court will have to declare whether Greece will be allowed to intervene in the dispute between Germany and Italy. The country will be able to take part in the trial and will have the opportunity to present the Greek arguments on the substance of the litigation only if the court gives the relevant permission.