On October 22, the heirs to the Jewish art dealers who were forced to sell the medieval devotional art collection known as the Welfenschatz (in English, the Guelph Treasure) to agents of Hermann Goering in 1935 filed their brief in the Supreme Court of the United States. It can be viewed at this link.
The Supreme Court is set to hear argument on December 7, 2020, on whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and its "takings clause" create jurisdiction over the heirs' claims for restitution of the Welfenschatz—as all reviewing courts so far have held. The Welfenschatz is held by the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (in English, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation).
Sullivan's Nick O'Donnell will be arguing the case's two issues before the Supreme Court: First, does the provision of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) that establishes U.S. jurisdiction over claims concerning "rights in property taken in violation of international law" create jurisdiction for the Welfenschatz case? And second, even if the statute applies, is there some other doctrine that justifies dismissing the case?
Read the full press release here.
