International Legal Problems of Return of Cultural Values in the Context of Judicial Case

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of international legal regulation of returning the cultural assets to the country of origin. The authors analyze the stages of the institution for the protection of cultural values development at the national and international levels. The article examines the system of international treaties that constitute the legislative framework of interstate cooperation in the field of returning cultural assets, the role of the UN, UNESCO and other international organizations in creating effective mechanisms for resolving disputes around returning cultural heritage items. The authors pay special attention to the case of Ukraine's claim to the University of Amsterdam on their turn of museum exhibits of the Scythian Gold exhibition, which was organized in the Netherlands under an agreement between the Ukrainian side and the Allard Pearson Museum in early 2014. The paper analyzes the acts of international organizations and national legislation of Ukraine on the consequences of the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, and analyzes in detail the provisions of the loan agreement, which served as a basis for demonstrating the assets of Ukrainian museums at an exhibition in the Netherlands. The authors critically analyze the arguments of the Crimean museums located on the territory uncontrolled by Ukraine, about having "the right of operational management" for the exported exhibits and provide convincing evidence confirming the ownership of Ukraine for all the temporarily exported museum values. Based on the analysis carried out, the authors come to the conclusion that the international standards for the protection of cultural assets and effective mechanisms for their return to their rightful owners have been developed by the joint efforts of the international community in the twentieth century. The current provisions of international public law and the national legislation of Ukraine, chosen as a result of conflict of legal regulation, give solid grounds to assert that Ukraine is the rightful owner of all museum assets of the exhibition "Scythian gold".