CULTURE AND MIGRATION

119 K. Papadopoulou Refugees and the Parthenon sculptures the power to possess, and repossess, items of great heritage significance to their people. 199 F. Cultural property case law 200 The most important case – because it was a decision of the International Court of justice (ICJ) – was decided in 1962 201 . It involved a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the territorial location and ownership of the Temple of Preah Vihear. Cambodia alleged that Thai authorities had unlawfully removed statues from the Temple. Having found as fact that the Preah Vihear was situated in territory over which Cambodia was sovereign, the ICJ concluded that in principle the “sculptures, stelae, fragments of monuments, sandstone model and ancient pottery” removed from the Temple by Thai authorities after 1954 202 should be restored to Cambodia. The Court found that such cultural restitution was “implicit in, and consequential on, the claim of sovereignty itself”. 203 A further parallel might be drawn with the return of the statue of Venus of Cyrene from Italy to Libya in 2008. The statue had been found in 1913 by Italian troops in Cyrenaica following its annexation by Italy and it was removed to Rome and placed in the Roman National Museum, having become under Italian law the property of the Italian State. Following extensive legal challenge, the decision to return the Venus was in 2008 upheld by the Council of State, 204 the highest court in Italy for administrative law. Among other conclusions the Council found that there existed a rule of customary international law which obliged recipient States to return all cultural objects which have been taken as a result of colonial domination or acts of armed conflict. There are illuminating parallels between this case and that of the Parthenon sculptures. Greece like Libya was occupied territory at the time of the taking. A final point of similarity is that in 1911-1915 (the period of annexation of the Cyrenian territory and removal of the Venus of Cyrene) Libya did not exist as an independent State. 199. G. Robertson QC, Prof. N. Palmer QC, A. Clooney “The Case for Return of the Parthenon Sculptures”. 31 July 2015, p. 94. 200. Idem, p. 95. 201. Case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand) [1962] International Court of Justice. 202. The year in which Thai forces were first stationed at the site. 203. [Judgment of 15th June 1962] International Court of Justice p. 36 “As regards the fifth Submission of Cambodia concerning restitution… [it is] implicit in, and consequential on, the claim of sovereignty itself”. Judgment available at: https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case- related/45/045-19620615-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf [30.01.2020]. 204. Decision of the Council of State of Italy, 8th April 2008.