Civil actions for damages caused by war crimes and the political act doctrine: what’s new?

Atto politico and other similar doctrines of judicial abdication constitute an obstacle to civil actions lodged against the forum State even whether such actions arise from the breach of fundamental rights by war crimes committed by State agents. The case of Markovic and others, both before Italian courts and before the European Court of Human Rights, represents a clear example of application of the political act doctrine in this field. Thus, after having recalled the key arguments at the basis of the ruling of the two aforementioned courts, the article investigates to which extent the developments in the recent case law of these courts would suggest an overruling of their approach towards acknowledging civil protection of the victims’ rights and assuring a certain degree of accountability of State authorities