On June 10 , 1944 , hundreds of people in the Greek village of Distomo were massacred by German troops in retaliation for Resistance activities nearby . Survivors and relatives of victims of this Distomo massacre sued Germany in Greek courts during 1995 . Germany did not appear and the trial court entered a default judgment , upheld on appeal by the Greek Court of Cassation . However , the Greek Justice Minister refused to grant the required permission to enforce the judgment in Greece . In response , the plaintiffs attempted to enforce the judgment at the European Court of Human Rights and in the German courts , but were denied on grounds of state immunity . Finally , after the '' Ferrini '' decision , the plaintiffs petitioned for enforcement in Italy ; the Italian courts agreed to enforce the judgment and during 2007 the plaintiffs placed a legal charge on Villa Vigoni , a property in Italy owned by the German state
Distomo massacre
Distomo massacre
Jurisdictional Immunities of the State