Acclaimed London-based lawyer Amal Alamuddin, Mrs. George Clooney as of recently after marrying the Hollywood star in Venice, arrives in Athens today, in order to explore legal options for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece. Alamuddin will be accompanied by Geoffrey Robertson, head of the prestigious law firm she works for, one of the biggest in London, and Norman Palmer, also an esteemed lawyer specializing in cultural heritage issues.
According to the official schedule, the three lawyers will first visit the Acropolis Museum and will then meet with PM Antonis Samaras, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Culture Minister Costas Tasoulas, together with other officials from the ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile, a leading British art Historian, Sir John Boardman, professor of Classical archaeology and art at Oxford University, warned Amal Alamuddin and her partners that any move to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece will set an “appalling precedent” for art repatriation around the world that would “ruin major museums” throughout Europe. According to “Greek Reporter”, Sir Boardman said to an interview with the Telegraph, that such move would set off repatriation claims in museums throughout the world, precipitating a vicious and unsolvable series of legal disputes.