Demokratia: Will the Greek Ideal Work in Greece’s Favour to Return the Parthenon Marbles under International Law?

Abstract

This article reviews the recent publications concerning the centuries-old dispute over the Parthenon Marbles. The discussion focuses on the application of international law to the question of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, and reviews Professor Catharine Titi’s book The Parthenon Marbles and International Law, with reference to and comparison with Alexander Herman’s book The Parthenon Marbles Dispute. 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.