La confisca di beni culturali illecitamente acquisiti dinanzi alla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo: riflessioni a margine del caso dell’Atleta di Fano

On May 2, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on the legality of a confiscation order issued by Italian authorities aimed at recovering the Victorious Athlete, a bronze statue from the classical Greek period, from the Getty Museum based in the United States. The ECtHR addressed the case focusing on the legitimacy of the confiscation of the bronze, this being part of the Italian cultural heritage, as it was illicitly exported from Italy. The Court emphasized that the Italian legal system views such confiscations as recuperative actions rather than punitive measures. The Court adopted this approach, highlighting the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage, and considered the confiscation as the only means for the statue to return to Italy’s cultural patrimony. The article sheds some light on the Court’s evolving role in protecting cultural property and balancing state interests with property rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.