Chorzów Factory case

The Chorzów Factory case
The Chorzów Factory case
Court	Permanent Court of International Justice
Full case name	Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzów (Germany v. Poland)
Decided	26 July 1927
Citations	Factory at Chorzów (Germany v. Poland), Jurisdiction, 1927 P.C.I.J. (Ser. A) No. 9 (26 July).
Case history
Argument	Oral argument
Court membership
President	Max Huber (President); Bernard Loder (Former President);
Associate judges	Robert Finlay · Didrik Nyholm · John Bassett Moore · Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven · Rafael Altamira y Crevea · Yorozu Oda · Dionisio Anzilotti · Epitácio da Silva Pessoa · Mihailo Jovanović · Ernst Rabel · Ludwik Ehrlich
Case opinions
Majority	Huber
Dissent	Ehrlich

The Chorzów Factory case (Germany v. Poland) 1927 P.C.I.J. (Ser. A) No. 9 (26 July) (French: Affaire relative à l'usine de Chorzów) was a case before the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1927. It was an early authority in international law that established a number of precedents in international law.

Background

In the Upper Silesia plebiscite a majority of 31,864 voters voted to remain in Germany while 10,764 votes were given for Poland. Following three Silesian Uprisings, the eastern part of Upper Silesia, including Chorzów and Królewska Huta, was separated from Germany and awarded to Poland in 1922. Migrations of people followed. Because of its strategic value, the case of the nitrate factory Oberschlesische Stickstoffwerke was argued for years before the Permanent Court of International Justice, finally setting some new legal precedents on what is "just" in international relations.

Significance

The Court held that:

A State is held responsible for expropriation of alien property
Under international law, a nation is responsible for acts of government organs or officers.
It is a general principle of international law that reparation is to be made for violations of international law. Regarding this, the PCIJ held: "reparation must, as far as possible, wipe out all the consequences of the illegal act and reestablish the situation which would, in all probability, have existed if that act had not been committed". The reparation should thereby consist of a restitution in kind, or if this is impossible, the payment of a sum that corresponds to the value as compensation.

References

↑ "Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzów (Jurisdiction)" (PDF). International Court of Justice (in French and English). Permanent Court of International Justice. 26 July 1927. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016.
↑ Rosenne, Shabtai (2006). The Law and Practice of the International Court, 1920–2005 (4th ed.). Leiden, Boston: Martinus Nijhoff. ISBN 978-9-047-40579-5.
↑ Bedjaoui, Mohammed (2012). "An International Contentious Case on the Threshold of the Cold War". In Bannelier, Karine; Christakis, Theodore; Heathcote, Sarah (eds.). The ICJ and the Evolution of International Law: The Enduring Impact of the Corfu Channel Case. London: Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-415-60597-7.
↑ Hein-Kircher, Heidi, ed. (June 21, 2012). "Zweite Polnische Republik: Ergebnisse der Plebiszite" [Second Polish Republic: Results of the Plebiscites]. Herder-Institut (in German). Archived from the original on 22 February 2025.
↑ Hudson, Manley O. (January 1929). "The Seventh Year of the Permanent Court of International Justice". The American Journal of International Law. 23 (1): 1–29. doi:10.2307/2190232. JSTOR 2190232.
↑ "Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzów (The Merits)" (PDF). International Court of Justice (in French and English). Permanent Court of International Justice. 13 September 1928. p. 47.

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[1] "Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzów (Jurisdiction)" (PDF). International Court of Justice (in French and English). Permanent Court of International Justice. 26 July 1927. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016.

[2] Rosenne, Shabtai (2006). The Law and Practice of the International Court, 1920–2005 (4th ed.). Leiden, Boston: Martinus Nijhoff. ISBN 978-9-047-40579-5.

[3] Bedjaoui, Mohammed (2012). "An International Contentious Case on the Threshold of the Cold War". In Bannelier, Karine; Christakis, Theodore; Heathcote, Sarah (eds.). The ICJ and the Evolution of International Law: The Enduring Impact of the Corfu Channel Case. London: Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-415-60597-7.

[4] Hein-Kircher, Heidi, ed. (June 21, 2012). "Zweite Polnische Republik: Ergebnisse der Plebiszite" [Second Polish Republic: Results of the Plebiscites]. Herder-Institut (in German). Archived from the original on 22 February 2025.

[5] Hudson, Manley O. (January 1929). "The Seventh Year of the Permanent Court of International Justice". The American Journal of International Law. 23 (1): 1–29. doi:10.2307/2190232. JSTOR 2190232.

[6] "Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzów (The Merits)" (PDF). International Court of Justice (in French and English). Permanent Court of International Justice. 13 September 1928. p. 47.

Chorzów Factory case

Background

Significance

See also

References