Headquarters of the Allied Force in Southern Europe v. Lo Franco and others

The case originated from employment disputes instituted before Italian courts against the Headquarters of the Allied Force in Southern Europe (HAFSE) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following the conclusion of the labour lawsuits brought against HAFSE in which the Italian courts had exercised their jurisdiction, the employees sought enforcement. Pending the enforcement proceedings, HAFSE appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to declare that the national courts lacked jurisdiction given the immunity from enforcement granted to HAFSE.

Although it primarily concerns executive immunity, the judgment in question also provides clarification on immunity from jurisdiction.

The Court addressed the issue of the compatibility of the NATO headquarters immunity regime with constitutional rules. Referring to the case law of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court emphasized that restrictions on individual rights for the protection of public interests do not in themselves violate the Constitution. The Court pointed out that NATO headquarters are international entities linked to NATO, an organization created for the purpose of maintaining peace and security. In this regard, it emphasized that Article 11 of the Constitution allows for limitations on sovereignty in order to ensure peace between nations. Therefore, the treaty provisions granting NATO and its headquarters immunity from jurisdiction and enforcement are consistent with the Constitution in that they serve to implement the purpose set forth in Article 11.

The Court also stressed that, with regard to immunity from jurisdiction, the resulting limitations on the right of access to the courts are mitigated, given the limited scope of jurisdictional immunity.