Il caso Tellini. Dall'eccidio di Janina all'occupazione di Corfù

The Tellini affair of 1923 was the origin of a complex controversy between Italy and Greece in which were debated some of the fundamental legal principles governing relations between states. It generated an international crisis which, although circumscribed and of brief duration, constituted an early acid test of the capacity of the League of Nations to be an effective collective instrument for maintaining international peace and security. In this sense the case raised problems that continue to constitute, with obvious differences at the historical and normative level, a central and not fully resolved point in the organisation of the international community. In addition, the Tellini affair is of interest from the standpoint of the relationship between law and practice. As is known, the reconstruction of customary norms of international law through an examination of practice raises a number of methodological issues. From this perspective, the analysis of the case is useful for reflecting on three points: a) the material sources of practice, b) the "pluralism" of practice sub specie of subjects, and c) the controversial value of diuturnitas as a necessary element of customary international norms (cf. FERRAJOLO, Law and Practice: A Methodological Approach to the Tellini Case, pp. 113-134). The volume also contains a selection of diplomatic documents and Acts of the League of Nations, useful for reconstructing the various phases of the controversy .