''Italy v France, United Kingdom and United States'' (also called the ''Monetary Gold Removed from Rome in 1943 Case'') was a case decided by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

(ICJ) in 1954, and part of a long-running dispute over the fate of

Nazi gold Nazi gold (german: Raubgold, "stolen gold") is gold possessed by Nazi Germany. Much of the focus of the discussion is about how much of this was transferred by Germany to overseas banks during World War II; the ruling Nazi party executed a policy o ...

that was originally seized from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The ICJ held that it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.

Facts

On 17 September 1943, 2,338 kg of gold was seized by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

from Rome. After the war, both Italy and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

claimed that this gold was theirs, and that the

Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold The Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, also known as the Tripartite Gold Commission, was a panel established in September 1946 by the United Kingdom, United States and France to recover gold stolen by Nazi Germany from othe ...

should return it to them. On 17 November 1950, the commission informed their forming governments (France, the UK and United States) that they could not resolve the issue. On 25 April 1951, the three governments, having failed to reach an agreement, agreed to request that the

appoint an independent arbitrator, who, on 20 February 1953, decided that the gold belonged to Albania. Schachtanlage Merkers

However, the UK and Italy still laid claim to the gold: the UK as partial payment towards the (still unsettled) compensation that Albania was ordered to pay them against damage to UK navy vessels and loss of life during the

Corfu Channel Incident The Corfu Channel Incident consists of three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War.

, caused by an undisclosed Albanian mine-field in Corfu (see the

Corfu Channel Case The ''Corfu Channel'' case (french: Affaire du Détroit de Corfou, links=no) was the first public international law case heard before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between 1947 and 1949, concerning state responsibility for damages a ...

), whilst Italy claimed that most of the gold was originally Italian, seized by the Albanian government when it took control of the

National Bank of Albania The Bank of Albania ( sq, Banka e Shqipërisë) is the central bank of Albania. Its main headquarters are in Tirana, and the bank also has five other branches located in Shkodër, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Korçë, and Lushnjë, while its Research an ...

(which Italy had the majority of shares in), and additionally that the Italian Peace Treaty specifically gave them claim to the gold. On 19 May 1953, Italy requested that the ICJ determine how much of the gold Italy had claim to, and whether the UK's or the Italian's claim should take precedence, stating that the three countries responsible for the redistribution of the gold should give it all to Italy in partial compensation for the Albanian seizure of the National Bank of Albania, and that this claim should over-ride the UK's claim.

Judgment

On 15 June 1954, the ICJ decided that, as the first issue to be addressed was the resolution of the legal dispute between Italy and Albania over the seizure of the National Bank of Albania, and as Albania had not deferred to the ICJ in this case, the ICJ had no jurisdiction in this matter.
Monetary Gold Removed from Rome in 1943
' (Italy v. France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America)

954 Year 954 ( CMLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – A Hungarian army led by Bulcsú crosses the Rhine. He camps at Worms in th ...

ICJ Rep 19.

References

External links

International Court of Justice records of this case
International Court of Justice cases 1953 in case law 1953 in international relations Italy–United States relations Albania–Italy relations Italy–United Kingdom relations France–Italy relations Economy of Nazi Germany Gold Albania–United Kingdom relations {{International-law-stub

Facts

Judgment

See also

References

External links