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Nottebohm (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala)

Liechtenstein v. Guatemala is the proper name for the 1955 contentious case adjudicated by

the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Liechtenstein sought a ruling to force Guatemalan

recognition of Friedrich Nottebohm as a Liechtenstein national.

History Nottebohm, born September 16, 1881 in Hamburg, Germany, possessed

German citizenship. Although he lived in Guatemala from 1905 until 1943 he never  became a citizen of Guatemala. On October 9, 1939, Nottebohm applied to become a

naturalized citizen of Liechtenstein. The application was approved under exceptional

circumstances and he became a citizen of Liechtenstein. He then returned to Guatemala onhis Liechtenstein passport and informed the local government of his change of nationality.

When he tried to return to Guatemala once again in 1943 he was refused entry as an enemy

alien since the Guatemalan authorities did not recognise his naturalisation and regardedhim as still German. It has been suggested that the timing of the event was due to the recent

entry of the US and Guatemala into the Second World War.He was later extradited to the US where he was held at an internment camp until the end of 

the war. All his possessions in Guatemala were confiscated. After his release, he lived outthe rest of his life in Liechtenstein.

Implications for international law

Background of the ICJ caseThe Government of Liechtenstein granted Nottebohm protection against unjust treatment

 by the government of Guatemala and petitioned the International Court of Justice.

However, the government of Guatemala argued that Nottebohm did not gain Liechtensteincitizenship for the purposes of international law. The court agreed and thus stopped the

case from continuing. So the courts decided that in this case they would decline the offer.

Decisionthe judgements was given by eleven votes to three

Although the Court stated that it is the sovereign right of all states to determine its owncitizens 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, (the Nottebohm principle) where the

national must prove a meaningful connection to the state in question. This principle was previously applied only in cases of dual nationality to determine which nationality should

 be used in a given case. However Nottebohm had forfeited his German nationality and thus

only had the nationality of Liechtenstein. The question arises, who then had the power togrant Nottebohm diplomatic protection?

The Nottebohm case was subsequently cited in many definitions of nationality.