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Liechtenstein v. Guatemala: Judgment of 6 April 1955

This case summary involves Liechtenstein v. Guatemala, regarding Friedrich Nottebohm's nationality and Guatemala's treatment of him. Nottebohm was born in Germany but lived in Guatemala from 1905 to 1943. In 1939, as World War II began, he became a naturalized citizen of Liechtenstein. However, the court found that Nottebohm's ties were much stronger to Germany and Guatemala, where he lived and worked for decades, than to Liechtenstein. Therefore, Liechtenstein did not have standing to bring a claim against Guatemala's treatment of Nottebohm.

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105 views

Liechtenstein v. Guatemala: Judgment of 6 April 1955

This case summary involves Liechtenstein v. Guatemala, regarding Friedrich Nottebohm's nationality and Guatemala's treatment of him. Nottebohm was born in Germany but lived in Guatemala from 1905 to 1943. In 1939, as World War II began, he became a naturalized citizen of Liechtenstein. However, the court found that Nottebohm's ties were much stronger to Germany and Guatemala, where he lived and worked for decades, than to Liechtenstein. Therefore, Liechtenstein did not have standing to bring a claim against Guatemala's treatment of Nottebohm.

Uploaded by

rabin karki
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Liechtenstein v.

Guatemala
Judgment of 6 April 1955

Facts of the Case

 Nottebohm, a German by birth (born September 16, 1881 in Hamburg,

Germany).

 Nottebohm lived in Guatemala from 1905 until 1943.

 He sometimes went to Germany on business and to other countries for

holidays, and also to Liechtenstein, where one of his brothers had lived since

1931.
 in 1939 March, left Guatemala and made visits to Hamburg and

Liechtenstein where his brothers lived.

 World war II

 on October 9, 1939, Nottebohm applied to become a naturalized

citizen of Liechtenstein.

 the application was approved on and he became a citizen of

Liechtenstein.
 Under law of Lichtenstein

 he must prove that he will lose his former nationality as the


result of naturalization;

 that he has been resident in the Principality for at least three


years, although this requirement can be dispensed with in
circumstances deserving special consideration and by way of
exception;

 that he has concluded an agreement concerning liability to


taxation with the competent authorities and has paid a
naturalization fee.
 At the beginning of 1940, returned to Guatemala on his Liechtenstein passport
which was visa-ed by Guatemalan consul in Zurich and informed the local
government of his change of nationality.
 Nottebohm was arrested by the Guatemalan government in 1943, handed over
to a US military base, and transferred to the US, where he was interned until
1946.
 The Guatemalan government confiscated all his property in the country, and the
US government also seized his company's assets in the US.
 This case had been brought to the Court by an Application by
Liechtenstein against the Republic of Guatemala.
 Liechtenstein claimed restitution and compensation on the
ground that the Government of Guatemala had acted towards
Mr. Friedrich Nottebohm, a citizen of Liechtenstein, in a manner
contrary to international law. Guatemala, for its part, contended
that the claim was inadmissible on a number of grounds, one of
which related to the nationality of Nottebohm, for whose
protection Liechtenstein had seised the Court.”
 The court held Liechtenstein’s claim to be inadmissible.

 Although the Court stated that it is the sovereign right of all

states to determine its own citizens and criteria for becoming


one in municipal law, such a process would have to be
scrutinized on the international plane where the question is of
diplomatic protection.

 The Court upheld the principle of effective nationality, where

the national must prove a meaningful connection to the state in


question.
 Different factors are taken into consideration, and their

importance will vary from one case to the next: there is the

habitual residence of the individual concerned but also the centre

of his interests, his family ties, his participation in public life,

attachment shown by him for a given country


 “In this connection the Court stated the essential facts of the case and
pointed out that Nottebohm always retained his family and business
connections with Germany. There is nothing to indicate that his
application for naturalization in Liechtenstein was motivated by any
desire to dissociate himself from the Government of his country. On
the other hand, he had been settled for 34 years in Guatemala, which
was the centre of his interests and his business activities. He stayed
there until his removal as a result of war measures in 1943, and
complains of Guatemala's refusal to readmit him. Members of
Nottebohm's family had, moreover, asserted his desire to spend his old
age in Guatemala. In contrast, his actual connections with
Liechtenstein were extremely weak.

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