Nottebohm Case (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala), 1955 ICJ 4
This case was decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1955. Friedrich Nottebohm, originally a German citizen, acquired Liechtenstein citizenship in 1939. However, Guatemala, where he had resided for many years and conducted business, refused to recognize this new nationality after World War II and seized his property, considering him an enemy national due to his former German citizenship.
Liechtenstein brought a case before the ICJ, seeking protection for its national (Nottebohm) against Guatemala.
The ICJ dismissed the claim, stating that Nottebohm’s naturalization in Liechtenstein lacked a genuine connection (i.e., effective nationality). It held that for a country to offer diplomatic protection on behalf of a person, that nationality must reflect a real and effective link between the person and the state.
Key Principles:
- Recognition of nationality in international law requires a genuine link between the individual and the state.
- A state cannot claim protection for someone who holds its nationality only formally and not effectively.
- Established the “effective nationality” doctrine or “real and effective link” test.
