On 22 December 2005 five lawyers from IALANA Italy (International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms) filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court in Pordenone, Italy. The Summons was filed against the  U.S. Government, in the person of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. 

Read the summons

Thanks to the work of lawyers from Ialana Italy, five Plaintiffs who live within a 10 kilometer radius from the Aviano airbase are suing the USA for endangering their communities, violating international law, due to the presence of 50 B-61 type bombs on the soil of a non-nuclear- weapon State.

The Summons can be accessed at the website of the Italian Anti-bases movement, www.vialebasi.net.

The five Plaintiffs are all active members of anti-nuclear and anti-war groups and will be supported in their lawsuit by a Solidarity Group (and Fund) that is open to all to join. The objective of the legal action is also to raise the issue of the presence of nuclear weapons in Europe, and therefore we hope to make news headlines and raise awareness as well as fighting the battle in court.

The Defendant is Secretary Rumsfeld and his Counsel is, by US law, Attorney General Gonzales.

In the Summons we have asked for the first hearing to be scheduled for July 7th, i.e. on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion in which the Court states that the use of, and the threat to use, nuclear weapons is contrary to international humanitarian law and customary law.

This is just to inform you all, since I am sure you will be as excited as we are in Italy about the opportunities that this legal action offers the anti-nuclear cause.