The court is the tribunal of the Council of Europe and adjudicates cases where there are accusations of violations of civil or political rights by member states that have agreed to accept its jurisdiction. Thursday's ruling was handed down by seven judges from various countries.
In its decision, the court found that no breach by Italy occurred.
“It couldn’t have gone in another direction,” said Lorenzo D’Ascia, an Italian government lawyer involved in the case. He noted that the European Court confirmed that there is an international consensus on the need to protect cultural artifacts from plunder. This ruling also recognized the legitimacy of confiscating illegally acquired works and returning them to their home countries. He said, “It is an important ruling.
Relations between the Getty and Italian cultural officials have long been rocky.
Marion True, a Getty curator who, along with another curator, Jiri Frel, helped build one of America's greatest collections of ancient art, was arrested in Rome in 2005 on charges of conspiracy and theft of antiquities from Italy. I went to trial. Deal with them. The lawsuit against True ended abruptly in 2010 when a court ruled that the statute of limitations on her alleged crimes had expired.
While the case was in court, Italy began negotiations with the Getty for the return of some of the works found to have been looted. The talks were contentious and at one point halted because of the statue.
The first agreement with the museum was reached in September 2007, when the Getty agreed to return 40 artifacts claimed by Italy, but the statues were left out of the negotiations. Since then, the Getty has returned numerous artifacts claimed by Italy, including three terracotta statues depicting 'Orpheus and the Sirens' dating to around 300 BC, which caused a stir in Italy when they were returned two years ago .
Thursday's ruling was a so-called chamber ruling and was not final. Either party has three months to request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice to consider whether further investigation is necessary. “But they are rarely brought before the Grand Chamber,” said D'Ascia, the lawyer. “We are carefully considering the possibility of requesting a review from the Chamber,” Getty said Thursday.