‘Mediation of Cultural Heritage Disputes – Under International Law is there a prima facie presumption of public policy that title to immovable property never passes regardless of how acquired?’

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See ‘Osborne says ‘95% of Parthenon Marbles deal agreed,’ but final hurdles remain’: https://lnkd.in/eCgKwaVA

I am currently reviewing the legal literature about claims for the repatriation of Cultural Heritage, for a Talk to the SCMA worldwide online on 11 November entitled – ‘Mediation of International Cultural Heritage Disputes – Part 1: Introduction & Overview’; and for a Monograph I am writing for publication in 2026 entitled – ‘Mediation of International Cultural Heritage Disputes.’

Although at Uppingham School, I was taught by the same English Literature Master as he was, and have great respect for his writing, ‘Legally’, it is not as simple as Stephen Fry appears to believe. See Chapter 2 – ‘The Elgin Marbles debate’, of ‘The Return of Cultural Treasures’, Third Edition (2007), by Jeanette Greenfield, Cambridge University Press.

If, as I suspect, the ‘legal mechanics’ of repatriation are not implemented before there is a change of Prime Minister or of the governing party in power in the UK, and if ‘Reform’ form part of a coalition government following the next general election, then politically the will to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles is likely to rapidly evaporate.

That will take Greece back to square one.

What is required to ensure repatriation is skilful negotiation/Mediation Advocacy, and not rhetoric.

As I wrote in a post on LinkedIn two years ago:

(i) there is no such thing as a ‘Statute of Limitations’ in International
Law; and

(ii) Greece could argue that as a general principle of International Law, there is a prima facie presumption of public policy, that title to ‘immoveable property’ never passes, regardless of how it was acquired.

The comparative analogy in English Planning Law, is the distinction between a ‘fixture’ and a ‘fitting.’

In the Talk and the Monograph, one of the Mediation Advocacy Tools that I will explore and discuss is whether the risk of an application being made to the International Court of Justice in the Hague for an ‘Advisory Opinion’ about the existence of this principle, and its application to Greece’s claim, is real.

In other words, what legal validity and substance does it have as an argument, in a Mediated negotiation?

Notwithstanding the validity of the legal argument, as Aristotle observed, there is a powerful ‘ethical’ argument in repatriation, that the ‘the whole’, e.g. of a ‘monument’, is ‘aesthetically’ greater ‘than the sum of its parts’:
https://lnkd.in/emXNjKHk.

The ‘Parthenon’ was erected and served as a ‘public monument’.

Notwithstanding the validity of the legal argument, as Aristotle observed, there is a powerful ‘ethical’ argument in repatriation, that the ‘the whole’ e.g. a statue is ‘aesthetically’ – greater ‘than the sum of its parts’:

It is not entirely clear from the academic literature whether Greece has ever advanced these arguments in the alternative. If you know the answer to this, please comment below and cite your source.