The Getty Trust Case: Human Rights, Property Issues, and Cultural Heritage Protection

This article examines the 2024 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in J. Paul Getty Trust and Others v. Italy, concerning the ownership and cultural heritage status of the ancient bronze statue Atleta di Fano (Victorious Youth). It analyses how the ECtHR addresses questions of cultural property and its inclusion in a nation’s cultural heritage. The judgment demonstrates that, when evaluating the cultural heritage value of a work of art for a particular country, the Court considers the issue of possible state ownership to be of little importance, and instead takes a range of other, even relatively unconventional factors into account, provided that the national authorities have done so as well. This approach reveals the ECtHR’s willingness to grant States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights a wide margin of appreciation in determining both the relevant facts and their legal interpretation. Moreover, the judgment in J. Paul Getty Trust and Others v. Italy shows a degree of deference even towards domestic findings that may appear less persuasive. Such reasoning ultimately benefits states that have long maintained robust legal frameworks for the appropriation of discovered cultural property, reinforcing their capacity to protect and retain objects of archaeological heritage.