"Victory must be for Ukraine." Lawyers regarding the future of the "Scythian gold" case 

/ Art /

The final verdict of the court is expected to be heard already in 2023.

About this reports tells Ukrinform with reference to the exclusive comment of Dutch lawyers from the team defending the interests of Ukraine in the case of "Scythian gold" by Geert-Jan van den Berg and Maarten Sanders.

"We received the opinion of the General Counsel of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which provides independent legal opinions to the Supreme Court on the issues in dispute. Usually, the institution listens to his advice. In 95% of cases, the Supreme Court makes a decision in accordance with such a review. So, this is already a very positive signal, and we hope that the final decision of the Supreme Court will be in favor of Ukraine," Sanders noted.

The final decision should be made on September 15, 2023. If it is positive for Ukraine, then the Scythian gold will be returned to the country.

"If it will be in our favor, in favor of Ukraine, then we will go to the museum in Amsterdam and inform that it is time to return the treasures. In the Netherlands, there is no other court that can appeal the decision of the Supreme Court. So this is the highest court, and if we win it, the case is closed. After that, the treasures must be returned to Ukraine," he explained.

"We applaud the court for the fact that it managed to understand the Ukrainian legislation on cultural heritage. The court confirmed what Ukraine stated from the very beginning - museum exhibits belong to the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine and should be considered as an inseparable part of the country's cultural identity. This is the right of Ukraine, as a sovereign state, to return its cultural heritage," emphasizes the lawyer.

The fact that the Scythian gold should be returned to Ukraine was confirmed by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on October 26, 2021. Currently, the valuable collection, the estimated value of which is 10 million euros, is stored in the Allard Pearson Museum.

 

 

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