International organizations — Immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO”) — Lease — Action to secure rent increase — Whether FAO entitled to jurisdictional immunity — Constitution of FAO 1945, Article XV — FAO-Italy Headquarters Agreement, 1950, Article VIII, Section 16 — Scope of immunity of FAO from legal process — Whether application of general rules of customary international law on immunity of international organizations excluded by specific treaty provisions on immunity of FAO

International organizations — Immunity — Waiver — Conclusion of tenancy agreement by international organization — Whether constitutes waiver — Application to municipal courts by lessor for rent increase — Arbitration clause in tenancy agreement — Whether a bar to jurisdiction of municipal courts

International organizations — Legal status — Constitution of FAO, 1945, Article XV — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Sale of goods — Claim for payment — Whether foreign State entitled to jurisdictional immunity — Distinction between activities performed jure imperii and jure gestionis — Requirement of sufficient connection with forum State for exercise of jurisdiction — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Foreign State-owned bank — Action on letters of credit — Whether bank entitled to Jurisdictional immunity — Acts performed jure imperii and jure gestionis — Requirement of sufficient connection with forum State for exercise of jurisdiction

Economics, trade and finance — International banking transactions — Legal nature — Letters of credit — Deposit — Whether corresponding to concept of deposit under Italian Civil Code — The law of Italy

International organizations — Immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Scope and extent — Employment dispute — Interpreter with supervisory functions — Whether employment sufficiently closely connected with decision-making process within organization to be covered by immunity — The law of Italy

International organizations — Immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Whether entitlement of international organization to immunity dependent upon existence of international legal personality — Relevance of non-ratification by forum State of headquarters agreement granting privileges and immunities to organization — Immunity for acts and relationships connected with essential functions of organization — Employment relationships — Whether permanent employment relationships are inherently connected with organizational functions — Distinction between State immunity and immunity of international organizations in relation to employment relationships — European Convention on State Immunity, 1972, Article 5

International organizations — Personality — Concept of international legal personality — Whether inherent in international organizations or dependent upon express treaty provision — Italian Latin-American Institute — Convention of 1 June 1966 establishing Institute — Express provision for legal personality (Article II) — Headquarters Agreement, 1969 — Non-ratification by forum State — Whether affects rights of organization under international law

Sources of international law — Treaties — European Convention on State Immunity, 1972 — Whether declaratory of existing rules of customary international law — Whether applicable to States not party to the Convention — Whether criteria for immunity contained in its provisions applicable to international organizations — The law of Italy

International organizations — Immunity — Attachment and execution — Assets of international organization attached to satisfy judgment creditor — Whether international organization entitled to immunity from execution — Scope of immunity of international organizations — Whether similar to immunity of foreign State — Assets intended for use in discharge of public functions — Presumption that all assets of international organizations are intended for such use — Whether investigation of real use of funds ever permissible — Paris Agreement establishing the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, 1962 — Additional Protocol — Reservation by Italy — Criteria for determining which assets immune from execution

International organizations — Immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Scope and extent — Limitation to acts performed in the exercise of public functions of organizations — Criteria for determining which employment relationships of international organizations covered by jurisdictional immunity — Requirement of connection with decision-making process within organization — The law of Italy

International organizations — Immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Employment dispute — Action brought by trade union concerning alleged disregard of trade union rights — Whether such proceedings constitute undue interference in affairs of international organization — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Employment dispute — Claim brought by journalist employed by Bavarian Land public broadcasting network — Waiver — Whether network entitled to jurisdictional immunity — Whether forum clause in contract of employment amounting to waiver

States — Federal States — Land of Federal Republic of Germany — Status under international law — Whether entitled to immunity from jurisdiction — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Employment dispute — Employee of foreign embassy — National of receiving State — Entitlement of foreign State to immunity — Whether employment relationships of diplomatic mission necessarily relate to exercise of sovereign powers — Whether nature or purpose of relationship decisive — Contract of manual employment

Diplomatic relations — Immunity — Locally recruited employees — Action for damages for failure to respect local national insurance provisions — Whether foreign State entitled to immunity — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Foreign States — Institutes of foreign States — Vatican City Institute for Religious Works — Scope of entitlement of Institute and its officials to jurisdictional immunity — Criminal proceedings

States — Holy See — Vatican City — Status under international law — Lateran Treaty, 1929, Article 11 — Central institutions of Catholic Church — Right of non-interference by Italian State — Entitlement to jurisdictional immunity — The law of Italy

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Employment dispute — Lycée dependent upon Ministry of foreign State — Member of teaching staff — Action for reinstatement — Whether foreign State entitled to jurisdictional immunity — Legal status of Lycée — Effect of Cultural Agreement between France and Italy, 1949 — The law of Italy

State immunity — Attachment and execution — Embassy bank account — Judgment creditor seeking to levy execution against foreign State by attachment of bank account — Principles of international law governing immunity of embassy funds from enforcement jurisdiction of receiving State — Whether execution permissible only if account used exclusively for non-sovereign purposes — Assets used for exclusively commercial purposes — Requirement of ministerial authorization for execution — Italian Law No 1263 of 1926

Diplomatic relations — Immunity — Embassy bank account — Account in use for meeting expenses of embassy — Whether subject to execution in receiving State — Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 — Provisions applicable only to diplomatic envoys and not to States

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Customary international law — Automatic incorporation into municipal law — Italian Constitution, Article 10 — The law of Italy

State immunity — Attachment and execution — Criteria for determining which assets immune from execution — Assets designated for non-sovereign tasks — Civil aircraft owned by foreign State airline — Whether liable to attachment to secure payment of debt owed by State corporation — Principles of customary international law governing immunity of assets of foreign State from enforcement jurisdiction in State of forum — Assets used for exclusively commercial purposes — Requirement of ministerial authorization for execution — Italian Law No 1263 of 1926

Sources of international law — Judicial decisions — Decision of Federal German Constitutional Court as evidence of customary international law

State responsibility — For debts — State corporations — Whether endowed with independent legal personality — Whether such corporations may be held liable for each other’s debts — The law of Italy

States — Sovereignty and independence — Conduct of foreign relations — Decision by Netherlands Government to withdraw support from 1980 Paraplegic Olympic Games if team from South Africa participated — Challenge to decision as unlawful boycott of South Africa — Whether justiciable before municipal courts

International organizations — United Nations — Powers — Legal effect of Charter and General Assembly Resolutions — Article 2(7) of Charter — Resolution 2625 (XXV) of General Assembly — Whether directly applicable in Member States — The law of the Netherlands

States — Recognition — Effects of non-recognition — Whether existence of a State is a matter of fact for decision by municipal courts — Decisive criterion of whether conditions for statehood required by international law are satisfied — “Democratic Republic of East Timor” — Legal status of Fretilin Liberation Front

Recognition — States — Non-recognition by vast majority of States — “Democratic Republic of East Timor” — The law of the Netherlands

Diplomatic relations — Immunity — Family of diplomatic agent — Entitlement of wife of diplomatic agent to immunity from taxation in receiving State — Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, Articles 34 and 37

Treaties — Application by municipal courts — Interpretation — Intention of the parties — Assumption that parties to a treaty intend to apply rules of customary international law — Belgium-Netherlands Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, 1970 — The law of the Netherlands

State succession — Contractual obligations — Loans — Loan agreements entered into with private parties by Surinam pursuant to autonomous powers in internal affairs — Whether enforceable by Government of the Republic of Surinam following accession to complete independence in 1975

States — Continuity of States — Republic of Surinam — Accession to complete independence in 1975 — Whether continuity in law between Republic of Surinam and former country of Surinam endowed with limited autonomy — The law of the Netherlands

International organizations — Officials — Immunity — European Communities — European Atomic Energy Community — Entitlement of officials to immunity from taxation in receiving State — Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, 1965, Article 14 — Primacy of rule contained in Protocol over conflicting provisions of domestic law of Member States and treaties concerning double taxation concluded between Member States

Treaties — Effect in municipal law — European Communities Merger Treaty, 1965 — Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities — Whether prevailing over conflicting municipal legislation of Member States — The law of the Netherlands

Environment — Maritime — Discharge of noxious waste at sea — Ministerial exemption granting permission to discharge waste in North Sea — Compatibility with Netherlands Marine Pollution Act 1975 — Exemption for mixtures containing no more than a “trace” of noxious substance — Interpretation by reference to travaux préparatoires of London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by the Dumping of Wastes, 1972 — Compatibility with Oslo Convention on Marine Pollution, 1972, Article 9 — Non-application of “informal” prior consultation procedure

Treaties — Effect in municipal law — Whether possessing direct effect — Application by municipal courts — Complaint of non-application of treaty provision by contracting State — Whether justiciable by municipal courts — Complaint of non-application of agreed “informal” consultation procedure — Relevance of non-application of procedure by other contracting parties — Oslo Convention on Marine Pollution, 1972 — The law of the Netherlands