Return of paintings – final ruling
After a hearing, the District Court in Poznań dismissed the appeal of the National Museum in Poznań and thus upheld the first-instance court’s verdict ordering the defendant to release to our clients three paintings unlawfully held in the museum’s collection.
This final verdict crowns years of efforts by the aristocratic family to return the portraits of their ancestors. The defendant museum disputed the provenance of the disputed artworks and defended itself with a statute of limitations. However, this allegation did not hold up in the trial – the courts of both instances shared the law firm’s position that the
raising this allegation constitutes an abuse of rights and is contrary to the principles of social relations (Article 5 of the Civil Code). The verdict restores justice and gives back to the heirs of the pre-war owners some of the property looted by the Communist regime.