Lauren Bursey reviews latest legal thinking on Parthenon marbles


22 July 2024

lauren-bursey

Lauren Bursey, a Phd candidate at LSE Law School, has published a review of the latest legal thinking on the repatriation of the Parthenon marbles in the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies:

"This review specifically evaluates the question of whether there is a customary international law on the return of unlawfully removed cultural heritage, which would require States, and specifically the United Kingdom, to be bound to such a rule. The existence of this rule would strengthen the efforts of Greece to argue for the return of the Marbles, which Titi argues is best resolved through diplomacy, and not recourse to the European Court of Human Rights or the International Court of Justice. Despite a growing global discussion about the need for repatriation of colonial-looted cultural objects, it remains to be seen whether it will have any impact, or indeed put pressure on, the Trustees of the British Museum or the UK Parliament which must pass an act to deaccession the Marbles from the national collection."

Click here to read the article in full.