This cupola reliquary is part of the Guelph Treasure, displayed at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Arts) in Berlin Photo: AFP Photo/Tobias Schwarz
In a unanimous opinion that could make it harder for the heirs of Jewish victims to reclaim art through the US justice system, the Supreme Court has sided with Germany in the high-profile Guelph Treasure claim, rejecting the argument that the country can be sued in the US for taking art from its own citizens as part of the Holocaust. The disputed collection at the centre of the case, the medieval Guelph Treasure estimated to be worth at least €200m, will remain for now in Berlin at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Applied Arts Museum) in Berlin, while the case returns to a lower court.
US Supreme Court to hear two cases related to Holocaust restitution
December 18, 2020
(JNS) The U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases on Dec. 7 related to the issue of Holocaust restitution.
The court will decide if the United States has the jurisdiction, in accordance with the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, to rule about crimes that happened abroad where there was no American involvement.
Although foreign governments usually cannot be sued in U.S. courts, exceptions for acts of terrorism or acts of property confiscation violating international law have been made in the past. The plaintiffs in both cases, Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp and Republic of Hungary v. Simon, will seek to have their cases heard based on the latter.