CULTURE

Another obstacle blocks return of the Parthenon Marbles

It seems the hour of justice might be at hand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to the place where they were created, according to a Reuters report from London titled «Nazi Case may Open Door for Elgin Marbles’ Return.» «A court case over art looted by the Nazis could pave the way for Britain to return Greece’s Elgin Marbles, whose ownership the two countries have long disputed,» said the report. British Attorney General Sir Peter Goldsmith has asked the High Court to establish whether the British Museum has a moral duty to return property obtained improperly. The museum wants to return four Old Master drawings stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish collector in the 1930s but, according to British law, it does not have the right to dispose of anything from its collection. If the court rules that Goldsmith can give his permission for the works to be returned, it could prompt demands for the museum to hand back other works. The importance of this development is that it could prompt demands for other works to be returned «if there was a moral obligation to do so,» said the Attorney General’s office. Unfortunately, as Kathimerini English Edition was going to press, it was announced that the High Court decided yesterday that the British Museum Act cannot be overridden by a «moral obligation» to return works known to have been improperly acquired.

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