Rzeczpospolita has reported on the measures taken by advocate Maciej Obrębski and attorney-at-law Damian Malicki in connection with two paintings from the former Lubomirski collection. The works were brought to Poland from Lviv and are currently being displayed as part of a temporary exhibition at the Museum of Central Pomerania in Słupsk.
Acting on behalf of an heir of Andrzej Lubomirski, the Law Firm applied to the court for interim relief securing a future claim for the surrender of the paintings. The application seeks to prohibit the museum from relinquishing possession of the works until the dispute concerning their ownership has been resolved.
The interim relief sought does not involve removing the paintings from the museum or prejudging the outcome of the case. Its purpose is to preserve the possibility of effectively enforcing a future judgment before the works leave the territory of Poland.
For more than ten years, the Law Firm has worked with the heirs of Andrzej Lubomirski, the last entailer of the Przeworsk Entail. The measures undertaken by advocate Maciej Obrębski and attorney-at-law Damian Malicki include investigating the fate of individual items from the collection dispersed around the world, analysing archival and museum records, handling international succession matters, and conducting negotiations and proceedings involving Polish and foreign institutions with a view to securing the restitution of lost cultural property.
Cases of this kind require not only the establishment of a work’s provenance and the history of its possession, but also the prompt initiation of procedural measures. The temporary presence of an object in Poland may constitute the only realistic opportunity to secure the heirs’ claims.
Read more on our blog: Restitution of Works of Art and Interim Relief – Why Timing Matters