According to a legal advice document, presented by the Guardian, Greece could have a strong case against the British Museum to win the Parthenon marbles back.
“We are trying to develop alliances which we hope would eventually lead to an international body like the United Nations to come with us against the British Museum” Greece’s Culture minister, Aristides Baltas, revealed in an interview.
“If the UN represents all nations of the world and all nations of the world say ‘the marbles should be returned’ then we’ll go to court because the British Museum would be against humanity. We do not regard the Parthenon as exclusively Greek but rather as a heritage of humanity” he said.
However, Mr. Baltas admitted there is always the risk of courts issuing a negative verdict that would permanently destroy Greece’s chances of repatriating the marbles through legal means.
“Courts do not by definition regard [any] issue at the level of history or morality or humanity-at-large. They look at the laws. As there are no hard and fast rules regarding the issue of returning treasures taken away from various countries, there is no indisputable legal basis” Baltas clarified.
In a 141-page document of legal advice QCs specialised in cultural restitution say Elgin clearly exceeded the authority when removing the marbles from the Parthenon. The lawyers, including the human rights expert Amal Clooney, insist that Greece could mount a strong case against the British Museum. Read the full article and the document here.