The team of Sayenko Kharenko prepared an expert report on Ukrainian law for the Allard Pierson Museum in the “Scythian Gold” case.

On 26 October 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that the Allard Pierson Museum had to hand over a collection of artifacts, known as the “Scythian Gold”, to Ukraine. The collection was being exhibited at the Allard Pierson Museum at the time when the Russian Federation occupied Crimea.

The key questions of Ukrainian law for the legal position of the Allard Pierson Museum were as follows:

  • whether the Allard Pierson Museum had validly suspended performance of its obligations under the contracts concluded with the Crimean museums
  • whether the Allard Pierson Museum was liable in this situation
  • whether there were grounds for terminating the contracts concluded between the Allard Pierson Museum and the Crimean museums or for establishing that the obligations of the Allard Pierson Museum under the said contract were impossible to perform

On 16 April 2019, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal issued an interim judgment in the case confirming that the position of the Allard Pierson Museum on the suspension of performance of its contractual obligations to the Crimean museums had been correct. In a final judgment of 26 October 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal also confirmed that the contractual obligations of the Allard Pierson Museum to the Crimean museums could not be performed and, therefore, the Allard Pierson Museum should not return the “Crimean Treasures” to the Crimean museums.

In its interim and final judgments, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal referred, inter alia, to an expert report on Ukrainian law prepared by Sayenko Kharenko.

“The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has duly established the content of Ukrainian law and applied it to the facts of this complex and extremely important case. We are glad to have helped the court with this”, – commented Olexander Droug, partner, head of international arbitration at Sayenko Kharenko.

Sayenko Kharenko team included associate Alina Danyleiko, special advisor Tatyana Slipachuk, and was led by partner Olexander Droug.