OOO AND OTHERS v. STATE OF JAPAN

Abstract

State immunity — Restrictive doctrine of State immunity — Whether acts of this case private legal acts — Whether acts of this case sovereign — Assessment — Customary international law — International conventions — Legislative trends in various countries — Case law — International Court of Justice — Italian courts — Whether exceptions to State immunity — Whether this case exceptional — Sovereign acts — Peremptory norms — Crimes against humanity — Whether reasonable for Korean court to have jurisdiction over Japan — Whether State immunity applicable

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Customary international law — State immunity — Applicability — Treaties — Korean written laws — Relevance — Customary international law — International conventions — Legislative trends in various countries — Case law — International Court of Justice — Italian courts — Whether exceptions to State immunity — Whether this case exceptional — Sovereign acts — Peremptory norms — Crimes against humanity — Interpretation of law — Whether conclusions unreasonable or unjust — Korean Constitution — Whether highest norm in legal order — Rights of victims — Damage to individuals — Reparations for individuals — Failure of lawsuits in other countries — Respect for sovereign States — Whether exception to State immunity where State violating peremptory norm — Whether State immunity applicable — Whether Korean court having jurisdiction

Jurisdiction — Crimes against humanity — Use of “comfort women” in Korea — Whether Korean court having jurisdiction — Whether State immunity applicable — Whether Korean court having international jurisdiction over this case — Whether exception to State immunity where State violating peremptory norm — Whether State immunity applicable — International jurisdiction — Relevant legal principles — Assessment — Article 2(1) of Private International Act — Whether Korean court having jurisdiction over litigation relating to extraterritorial cases when venue Korea

International criminal law — Crimes against humanity — Whether acts of this case constituting crime against humanity — Whether exception to State immunity where State violating peremptory norm — Whether State immunity applicable — Whether Korean court having jurisdiction

War and armed conflict — Treatment of civilians — Annexation of territory — Imperial Japan occupying Korean Peninsula — Annexation Treaty, 1910 — Asia-Pacific War — Military strategy of Imperial Japan — Wartime “comfort stations” — Wartime “comfort women” — Imperial Japan mobilizing “comfort women” from Korean Peninsula — Plaintiffs subjected to violence and sexual assaults by Japanese soldiers — Plaintiffs suffering physical and psychological damage — Plaintiffs seeking compensation from Japan — Reparations for individuals — Whether State immunity applicable — Whether Korean court having jurisdiction

Damages — Compensation — Post-war — Wartime “comfort stations” — Imperial Japan mobilizing “comfort women” from Korean Peninsula — Military strategy of Imperial Japan — Plaintiffs claiming reparations for physical and psychological damage — Whether acts of this case constituting crime against humanity — Responsibility for indemnification for damages — Applicable law — Assessment of illegality of acts of this case — Scope of responsibility for indemnification for damages — Reparations for individuals — Plaintiffs seeking reparations from Japan as successor to Imperial Japan — Whether Japan obligated to pay reparations to plaintiffs

Treaties — Application — Scope — Claims Agreement, 1965 — 2015 Agreement — Effect on plaintiffs’ right to claim reparations for damage — Whether Agreements extinguishing plaintiffs’ right to claim — The law of the Republic of Korea