Liechtenstein Needs To Target Czech Court's Judgment To Win WWII Case - Law Firm

Liechtenstein Needs to Target Czech Court's Judgment to Win WWII Case - Law Firm

Liechtenstein, which has recently filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanding the return of properties confiscated by the Czech Republic after World War II, needs to focus on overturning the decision of the Czech Constitutional Court in order to increase its chances for a victory, London-based litigation firm Candey told Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2020) Liechtenstein, which has recently filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanding the return of properties confiscated by the Czech Republic after World War II, needs to focus on overturning the decision of the Czech Constitutional Court in order to increase its chances for a victory, London-based litigation firm Candey told Sputnik.

Last month, Liechtenstein lodged a formal complaint with the ECHR alleging a "disregard" of the sovereignty by the Czech Republic over the return of nearly half a million acres of land, and castles and palaces confiscated in 1945. Prague has responded by saying that the case should not be considered by the ECHR because the Strasbourg court does not deal with issues that date from before the European Convention on Human Rights was signed in 1950. The lands and castles in question were confiscated by the Czech government because it had designated the House of Liechtenstein and 38 other Liechtensteiner families as "German."

"It is probably likely that the Czech Republic will initially seek to challenge jurisdiction on the basis that Liechtenstein's complaint concerns events that took place soon after the World War II, whereas the Czech Republic can, as a matter of international law, only be responsible for its conduct after the early 1990s when it became bound by the European Convention on Human Rights ... The key for Liechtenstein at the jurisdictional stage will therefore be to get the Court to focus on the judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in February this year," Dr. Lionel Nichols, a human rights barrister and a partner with Candey, said.

This case is unusual and is "the one to watch closely," as it is only the 26th time in ECHR history that a state has commenced a claim, the lawyer noted.

In February, the Czech Constitutional Court ruled against the House of Liechtenstein, saying that the confiscation was legal. The royal family of the tiny Alpine state insists that the designation of its citizens as German was an unlawful decision by Prague, as Liechtenstein is a sovereign state.