A former SS member wanted in Denmark for the 1943 killing of a journalist has been spared extradition from his home in Germany.

Danish-born Søren Kam, now 85, has admitted being involved in the killing of Carl Henrik Clemmensen, a journalist and member of the Danish resistance, but says he was acting in self defence.

He was born in Denmark but took German citizenship in 1956 and has been living in the Bavarian city of Kempten since then.

In a ruling announced on Sunday, the senior district court of Munich court said he could only be tried for manslaughter, which falls under the statute of limitations because the killing was so long ago.

Had the court ruled that he could be tried for murder, for which the statute does not apply, Kam could have been extradited to face trial in Denmark.

The court said Kam was accused "together with two other people (of) killing the Danish journalist Clemmensen on August 30, 1943 in the Danish town Lyngby near Copenhagen by firing a total of eight shots at their victim."

Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen said on Sunday in Copenhagen: "Of course I would rather have seen a different outcome. But we respect the decision of the German justice system."