The Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on the transfer of the collection of "Scythian gold" to Ukraine, which was the subject of legal proceedings in the Netherlands for years, the court's press service reports.
This means that the Allard Pearson museum, which stored the "Scythian gold", must return the collection to Ukraine, and not to the Crimean museums, which sent the "Scythian gold" to the Netherlands for an exhibition shortly before the annexation of the peninsula by Russia.
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands confirmed the decision of June 9, 2023, made by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in October 2021.
"The Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeal of the Crimean museums, thus the decision of the court (of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. - Ed.) remains in force," the decision reads.
The Ukrainian side welcomed the news and recalled that the legal battles had lasted for almost 9 years.
The Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam received objects for temporary use from four museums of Crimea in 2014. When Russia annexed the peninsula, the question arose to whom the museum should return the "Scythian gold": to the museums in the temporarily occupied Crimea or Ukraine.
On December 14, 2016, the Amsterdam court decided to return the "Scythian gold" to Ukraine, but in January 2017, the Crimean museums began the process of appealing the decision. In 2021, the court in Amsterdam ruled in favor of Ukraine.
"Crimean Museums" appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled on June 9 that the treasures are the cultural heritage of all of Ukraine. Now that the Supreme Court has passed this decision, the controversy is finally over.
"The decision of the Supreme Court put an end to this dispute. The Allard Pearson Museum should hand over the artistic values to the state of Ukraine, not to the Crimean museums," the court's decision reads.
Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak wrote, that the Netherlands court:
"The court battles lasted almost 9 years. Russia wanted to deprive Ukraine of its cultural heritage. Now the court completely rejected the cassation appeal of the "Crimean museums" and upheld the appeal decision, which satisfied Ukraine's claims.
There will be a triumph of justice in other cases related to the crimes of Russia. We will return everything that belongs to our nation," the official assured.
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