The purpose of this research is to give an argued answer to the question if South Korean former comfort women who were forcefully mobilized by Imperial Japan to brothels of the Imperial Japanese...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to give an argued answer to the question if South Korean former comfort women who were forcefully mobilized by Imperial Japan to brothels of the Imperial Japanese armed forces can, despite the principle of state immunity, obtain reparations from the state of Japan for the unfathomable horrors they experienced every day at the hands of the Japanese soldiers during the Asia-Pacific War. The principle of state immunity is a customary international law rule which entails that states are immune from prosecution in other states. State immunity has the power to prevent a court from possessing jurisdiction, and it can prevent a court from executing a judgment. According to this principle, the former comfort women should not be able to sue the state of Japan in the Korean domestic courts. However, in January 2021 the Seoul Central District Court ruled in a lawsuit against Japan brought by a group of former comfort women that, based on a violation of jus cogens norms, state immunity could be lifted. The decision of the Seoul Central District Court was in violation with international law. An exception of state immunity based upon a jus cogens violation finds no corroboration in existing customary international law, and is in conflict with the current international immunity norms. It could, however, be possible that the South Korean constitution can be interpreted to exclude state immunity from the domestic legal order if it interferes with the right of the former comfort women to obtain reparations. However, the South Korean Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the matter of state immunity, and it is not possible to determine how to correctly interpret the South Korean constitution. Therefore, it seems that the fate of future lawsuits instigated by former comfort women will, for now, remain uncertain.Show less
