The Parthenon marbles case is the most famous international cultural heritage dispute concerning repatriation of looted antiquities, the Parthenon marbles in the British Museum’s ‘Elgin Collection’. The case has polarised observers ever since Elgin had the marbles hacked out of the ancient temple at the turn of the 19th century in Ottoman-occupied Athens. In 1816, a debt-stricken Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which subsequently entrusted them to the British Museum, where they have remained since then.
Much ink has been spilled on the Parthenon marbles. The ethical and cultural merits of their repatriation have been fiercely debated for years. But what has generally not been considered are the legal merits of their return in light of contemporary international law. This book is the first in legal scholarship to provide an international law perspective of the cause célèbre of international cultural heritage disputes and, in doing so, to clarify the new customary international law on the return of cultural property unlawfully removed from its original context.
The book, which includes a foreword by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, is a unique reference work on the legal case for the return of the Parthenon marbles and the new normative framework for the protection of cultural heritage.
Author(s): Catharine Titi
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 317
City: Cham
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background
1.1.1 From Verres to Elgin
1.1.2 The Parthenon Marbles and the Protection of Cultural Heritage
1.1.2.1 Why the Parthenon marbles?
1.1.2.2 The protection of cultural heritage
1.1.3 The Debate and the Dispute
1.2 Scope of the Book
1.2.1 Overall Purpose
1.2.2 Coverage of Legal Fields and Dispute Settlement Forums
1.3 Outline of the Book
References
Part I: The Facts
Chapter 2: The Parthenon
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Athenian Golden Age
2.2.1 Athena´s Temple Reborn: The Periclean Building Programme
2.2.2 Architecture and Iconography
2.3 The Parthenon over the Ages
2.4 The Unique Significance and Legacy of the Parthenon
2.5 The New Acropolis Museum
2.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Elgin and the Marbles
3.1 Introduction
3.2 A Timeline of Looting
3.3 The Question of Permission
3.3.1 A Touch Too Tall? Elgin´s Tale of a Firman
3.3.2 If the Firman Existed, did it Authorise Elgin´s Actions?
3.3.3 Ex post facto Approval?
3.3.3.1 Ratification by subsequent firmans?
3.3.3.2 The Ottomans allow the remainder of Elgin´s collection to be shipped
3.3.3.3 Evidence contradicting approval
3.4 Bought and paid for
3.5 A Spoiler Worse than Turk and Goth
3.5.1 Destruction
3.5.2 Marbles at Sea and the Mentor Shipwreck
3.5.3 Reaction to the Looting
3.6 Arrival in London
3.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: The Acquisition of the Marbles by the UK Government
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Negotiations and Debates
4.3 The Select Committee Inquiry
4.3.1 Witness Testimonies
4.3.1.1 The question of permission (again)
4.3.1.2 The locals´ `indifference´ to the removals
4.3.2 The Report
4.4 The Purchase
4.5 The Question of Ownership: Whose Marbles?
4.5.1 Cultural Heritage and Occupied Territories
4.5.2 Corruption
4.5.3 Did Elgin Obtain the Marbles as a Private Citizen or as Ambassador?
4.5.4 Did the UK Government Acquire Rights in the Marbles? (and the Question of Good Faith)
4.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Greek Demands for Return
5.1 Introduction
5.2 From Independence to EU Membership
5.3 UNESCO
5.3.1 Sorry, Melina: Never on Sunday or Any Other Day
5.3.2 UNESCO Mediation
5.4 Recent Developments
5.5 Should Greece Have Applied to an English Court?
5.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: The British Museum and the Marbles
6.1 Introduction
6.2 In the Care of the British Museum
6.2.1 Whitening the Marbles: The Duveen Scouring Scandal
6.2.1.1 Polychrome decoration and the historic patina
6.2.1.2 The historic patina in the nineteenth century and in the early twentieth century
6.2.1.3 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
6.2.2 A Near Miss: Bombing of the British Museum during the Blitz
6.2.3 Receptions, Dinners, and Fundraisers
6.2.4 On Loan to Russia
6.2.5 Water Leaking in the Marbles Gallery
6.3 The Positions of the British Museum: Engaging with the Debate
6.3.1 Traditional Positions
6.3.1.1 The removal of the marbles was a boost to the fine arts and interest in the classics
6.3.1.2 The marbles were saved by their removal
6.3.1.3 The marbles are seen by more people in Bloomsbury than they would be in Athens
6.3.1.4 London is a safer home for the marbles than Athens
6.3.1.5 The Parthenon marbles are part of Britain´s cultural heritage
6.3.1.6 The principle of repose
6.3.1.7 The return of the marbles will be the end of world museums (floodgates argument)
6.3.2 An Argument Apart: `Cultural Nationalism´ v `Cultural Internationalism´ (and Why It Is Both Misleading and Irrelevant)
6.3.3 The Trustees´ Statement: Current Arguments against Return
6.3.3.1 The British Museum as a `world´ museum
6.3.3.2 `Positive advantage and public benefit in having the sculptures divided between two great museums´
6.3.3.3 The marbles are `a part of the world´s shared heritage´
6.3.3.4 Common misconceptions
6.4 The Ban on Deaccession (British Museum Act 1963) and the Relevance of Domestic Legislation to International Law
6.5 Conclusion
References
Part II: Access to Dispute Settlement
Chapter 7: What Method of Dispute Settlement?
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Consent to Dispute Settlement
7.3 Diplomatic Means
7.3.1 Negotiations
7.3.2 Mediation
7.4 Legal Means
7.4.1 Arbitration
7.4.2 Judicial Settlement
7.4.2.1 International Court of Justice
7.4.2.2 European Court of Human Rights
7.5 Practical Considerations
7.5.1 Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies
7.5.2 Ex aequo et bono?
7.5.3 Relief Sought and Binding Force
7.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Issues of Jurisdiction and Admissibility
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Existence of a `Legal´ Dispute or Question
8.3 Questions of Attribution: British Museum and UK Government (The Interstate Nature of the Dispute)
8.3.1 Attribution and State Responsibility
8.3.2 The Ban on Deaccession Revisited
8.3.3 Attribution to the UK Government
8.4 Legal Effects of the Lapse of Time (including Issues related to the Merits)
8.4.1 Waiver
8.4.2 Estoppel
8.4.3 Acquiescence
8.4.4 Extinctive Prescription
8.5 Conclusion
References
Part III: The Law Applicable to the Substance of the Dispute
Chapter 9: Treaty Law
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Protection of Cultural Property
9.2.1 The Conventions
9.2.1.1 The Hague Convention of 1954 and its Protocols
9.2.1.2 The 1970 UNESCO Convention
9.2.1.3 The UNIDROIT Convention
9.2.2 Temporal Remit and Impact of the Conventions
9.3 Human Rights Law
9.3.1 The European Convention on Human Rights
9.3.2 Right to Property
9.3.3 Right to Cultural Identity?
9.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: Customary International Law
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Return of Important Cultural Property
10.2.1 Custom Formation and Identification
10.2.2 Widespread and Representative State Practice
10.2.3 Uniform and Consistent State Practice?
10.2.4 Do Museums Contribute to State Practice? (and Some Reflections on Museum Practice)
10.2.5 Acceptance as Law (opinio iuris)
10.2.6 Is the United Kingdom a Persistent Objector?
10.2.7 The New Customary Law on Return
10.3 Equity
10.3.1 The Importance of the Context (Equity as Individualised Justice)
10.3.2 Equity and the Evolution of Law
10.4 Conclusion
References
Part IV: Time Future
Chapter 11: Conclusion: Homecoming
References
Chapter 12: Annex: The Parthenon Sculptures-The Trustees´ Statement (British Museum)
