International Arbitration and the Future of Holocaust Restitution in the Aftermath of Republic of Hungary v. Simon and Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp
Kathryn Lee Boyd - Hecht Partners llp
It remains to be seen if international arbitration can provide a true alternative to U.S. and foreign domestic courts for restorative justice for victims of mass human rights violations. This path is untested and certainly departs from traditional investor-state arbitration.
March 4, 2021 - Investor-state international arbitration may provide a way forward for Survivors and their heirs after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision denying claims in two restitution cases regarding Holocaust-era stolen property: Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp (for return of Medieval art stolen by the Nazis) along with the companion case of Republic of Hungary v. Simon (for return of personal property stolen from fourteen Holocaust survivors). Both were bellwether cases for those of us who have advocated with halting success in U.S. courts on behalf of the true owners of Nazi-stolen property still in the hands of foreign governments. Decided in favor of the sovereigns, the decisions may be the fatal blow to restorative justice in the United States—not only for U.S. citizen heirs to Holocaust victims, but also victims of other genocides and human rights catastrophes, such as the Armenian and Darfur genocides. read the full story