Compensation Claims for Italian Military Internees

Article 43 of Decree-Law no. 36 of 30 April 2022, converted into Law no. 79 of 29 June 2022, established a Fund for compensation for damages suffered by victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Italian territory or, in any case, to the detriment of Italian citizens by the forces of the Third Reich during the period between September 1943 and 8 May 1945.

Libra, increasingly focused on mass tort cases and a promoter of major class actions and collective actions for damages, welcomed the introduction of a provision that finally gives concrete effect to the Agreement between the Italian Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, implemented by Presidential Decree no. 1263 of 14 April 1962. For the first time, surviving I.M.I. — Italian Military Internees — and the heirs of fallen soldiers and deceased veterans are given the opportunity to obtain not only judicial recognition of the serious harm suffered at the time, which affected the life and family history of every deportee, but also financial compensation.

Considering the merits of the claim, but also the practical difficulty that each claimant would face in bringing proceedings independently, as well as the strict deadline set by the Legislator for judicial action, Libra has opened participation to all interested parties in order to support them in the rapid collection of all documentation required to initiate a single legal action.

The action will be conducted without any advance payment of costs or expenses by the injured parties or their descendants and will be aimed at obtaining an order against the Federal Republic of Germany to pay compensation for damages.

Libra will also assist all participants in the procedure for accessing the compensation fund.

All information regarding the required documentation and the participation procedure will be provided to interested parties at the numbers indicated.

Registrations closed on 14 June 2023.