Poland in Greece

The idea of organizing an international conference on the legal possibilities of pursuing reparation claims came up during the meeting of the Secretary of State in Polish MFA Arkadiusz Mularczyk with the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Professor Prokopis Pavlopoulos in February this year and had a very positive response from many institutions and specialists in the field. As a result, the conference was attended by recognized lawyers from Poland, Greece, Italy and Serbia, as well as guests from Great Britain.

The discussion during the conference focused on three thematic panels:

•             The legal aspects of redress for harm and loss in public and private international law.

•             The possibility of raising compensation claims for reparations and compensation through international organizations.

•             Domestic experiences, with domestic case studies, of pursuing individual compensation claims for World War II harm and loss.

The conference was opened by the Director of EPLO, Professor Spyridon Flogaitis and Minister  Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Government Plenipotentiary for Compensation for Damage Caused by German Aggression and Occupation in 1939-1945.

The first panelist was the former President of the Hellenic Republic, professor of law Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who emphasized with regard to Greece's reparation claims that they are legally active and enforceable in court. At the same time, he drew attention to the need for political pressure on the German side. Then, in turn, spoke: Professor Photini Pazartzis, a specialist in the field of human rights, lecturer at the University of Athens and head of the Constantine G. Karamanlis Chair, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Professor Magdalena Baińczyk from the Institute for Western Affairs in Poznań, Dr. Przemysław Sobolewski, Director of the Research Bureau of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland , Professor Stelios Perrakis, diplomat, f. lecturer and Vice-Rector of the Panteion University in Athens, Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, f. Greek Ambassador to Poland, member of the International Hellenic Association, Professor Notis Marias, lecturer at the University of Crete and former MEP, attorney Christina Stamouli, representing families of the victims of the Distomo massacre, attorney Filippo Biole, lawyer of the families of the victims from Italy, Dr. Dragan Novovic, lawyer from Serbia and mayors of two Greek cities, Kalavrita and Distomo, where the largest murders of civilians during the German occupation took place.

The participants of the conference agreed that in order to close the history of World War II, the issue of war reparations regarding both individuals and states that were victims of German Nazism should be ended. In the face of the imperfections of the existing legal instruments, international cooperation is needed between states, institutions, civil society organizations from countries where the sense of injustice and lack of compensation is strong.

The conference in Athens was another voice aimed at stimulating social awareness in favor of launching "post-conflict justice", despite the fact that almost 80 years have passed since the end of World War II. These issues are of particular importance today in the face of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the crimes that are committed there, as well as in connection with other armed conflicts occurring in various regions of the world.