Today, the Dutch Supreme Court issued a judgment in the long-running proceedings between Crimean Museums, the Ukrainian State and the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. The question at issue in this case is to whom the Allard Pierson Museum should return a precious collection of archaeological objects, gold jewellery and coins. The Ukrainian State considers the collection an important cultural heritage. BarentsKrans represented the Ukrainian State in the Supreme Court proceedings.

Before 2014, the collection was housed at four museums in Crimea. During a loan period to the Allard Pierson Museum, Crimea was annexed by Russia. The museums demanded the pieces to be returned from the Allard Pierson Museum in the Dutch court. The Ukrainian State intervened in the Dutch proceedings, demanding that the collection should not be returned to the museums, but to the Ukrainian State itself. Based on the Ukrainian museum law regime, the Amsterdam court ruled that the pieces should be returned to the Ukrainian State. That law regime has the nature of a priority rule in the Netherlands, according to the court.

The Crimean museums challenged that judgment in the Supreme Court. The museums complained that the court’s judgment infringes their right to property under Article 1 First Protocol ECHR. They furthermore complained about the priority rule nature of the Ukrainian museum law regime. The Supreme Court rejected those complaints. The case therefore came to an end.

BarentsKrans’ Jan-Paul Heering and Hugo Boom represented the Ukrainian State in Supreme Court proceedings.