2016 marks the 200th anniversary of “elginism” [def: An act of cultural vandalism]. On June 7th 1816 the British parliament voted to purchase the looted collection of Parthenon marbles from lord Elgin.

As the 200th anniversary is upon us, the Greek Minister of Culture Aristides Baltas says the Greek government is considering appealing to the international justice system for their return.
The Greek Minister told the Guardian that “if the UN represents all nations of the world and all nations of the world say ‘the marbles should be returned’ then we’ll go to court because the British Museum would be against humanity” … “we do not regard the Parthenon as exclusively Greek but rather as a heritage of humanity”.

The Guardian also published a 142-page report [ The Case for Return of the Parthenon Sculptures ] composed by Geoffrey Robertson, Norman Palmer and Amal Clooney in July 2015, on Greece’s legal prospects. The three attorneys argue that Greece has a strong case in and could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights or the International Court of Justice.