Points of law

The decision admits the immunity from civil jurisdiction only for foreign States when they act as sovereign bodies and not when they act as private subjects.

Summary of the case

The Italian jurisdiction cannot apply when an employment relation is altogether alien to domestic legislation, in that it refers to activities a foreign country is carrying out in the exercise of the powers of a public authority, within its own legal system and within its territory, or even outside it, if the State acted as an international law subject. This principle is based on the generally recognised customary international law rule providing for the immunity form jurisdiction of foreign countries, enshrined in the Italian domestic law under article 10 of its Constitution.

Sources

Italian Yearbook of International Law, 1976, 325

Additional information (explanations, notes, etc.)

Article 10 of the Italian Constitution