Dutch court awards Crimean gold artefacts to Ukraine

A Dutch court of appeal has ruled that a collection of ancient Crimean gold artifacts claimed by Ukraine and museums in Russian annexed territory should be returned to the Ukrainian state.

The pieces, including a solid gold Scythian helmet and a gold neck ornament, each weighing more than 1 kg (35 oz), were on display in the Netherlands when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

Reading a summary of Tuesday’s decision, Judge Pauline Hofmeijer-Rutten’s president said Ukraine’s national cultural interests are greater than those of museums in Crimea.

“The Allard Pierson Museum is no longer obligated to return the pieces to the Crime Museum,” she said. “The rights of the Ukrainian state, based on the law of museums … take precedence.”

Kiev welcomes the decision that can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was a “fair decision” and welcomed the “long-awaited victory” to return the treasure.

“We always get what is ours. After ‘Scythian Gold’ we come back to the Crimea,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

There was no immediate reaction from Moscow.

Rob Meijer, the lawyer who appealed on behalf of the museums, said he was disappointed with the verdict, but it was up to his clients to decide whether to file a further appeal.

“These treasures … have been excavated in the Crimea, they have been preserved, restored, always exhibited in the Crimea,” he said.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea has led to Western sanctions. Western countries and most of the rest of the world recognize the Black Sea Peninsula as Ukrainian, and Kiev wants the territory back.

Maarten Sanders, the lawyer representing Ukraine in the dispute, said it would be difficult for Russia to try to assert the owners of the articles in a Dutch court because the United Nations and the European Union have sovereignty over the Crimea did not recognize.

A lower court in 2016 ordered the Allard Pierson Museum to return the archaeological treasures, which also contained gems, helmets and scissors, to the Ukrainian government instead of the four museums they had lent.

Russia appealed the decision, and the Court of Appeal subsequently partially overturned the 2019 lower court’s decision.

It noted that it was wrong to decide that only governments should claim objects as cultural heritage, and said it needed “further information” from both sides to make a final decision on the case.

The University of Amsterdam, the owner of the Allard Pierson Museum, has said the museum will continue to hold the objects until all appeals are resolved.