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The Guelph Treasure has been the subject of various restitution claims since 2008. In 2014, following a thorough examination, the Advisory Commission recommended that no restitution be made because the sale was not deemed to be a seizure due to persecution. After the claimants at the time were also unable to assert their claims in the proceedings they subsequently initiated in the USA, they turned to the Advisory Commission again in March 2024 after new documents became known. Another group of potential claimants also contacted the Advisory Commission in April. A third group of potential beneficiaries, with whom the SPK is in contact, has not yet done so.

The SPK is unequivocally committed to implementing the Washington Principles of 1998 and the "Joint Declaration" issued by the federal, state and local governments in 1999 to implement them. In a letter dated 25 September 2024, the SPK explained to the Advisory Commission that it would agree to the matter being referred to the Commission, but that questions regarding the eligibility of individual claimants, among other things, still needed to be clarified first, as stipulated in the Commission's Rules of Procedure from 2016. The Advisory Commission did not respond to the SPK.

In the meantime, the Chairman of the Advisory Commission, Prof Dr Hans-Jürgen Papier, publicly stated at the beginning of February this year that the conditions for a referral by the Commission would be examined by the Commission itself.

The SPK then contacted the Commission, applicants and other known heirs. It has now agreed once again to refer the matter to the Advisory Commission, trusting that it will deal in detail with the outstanding issues in order to bring about clarification between the various applicants.

The SPK has also decided to submit its own application to the Advisory Commission so that the proceedings also take into account other possible claims by known and unknown heirs of Guelph Treasure consorts and find a solution for them. A recommendation from the Advisory Commission should be binding on all potentially involved parties. Without the same binding force as would be the case in proceedings before the soon-to-be-established arbitration tribunal, a recommendation would not lead to a genuine settlement of the case and would possibly result in further proceedings.

The Foundation has already faced renewed legal action from interested parties following a recommendation by the Commission: The claimants at the time had not accepted the Advisory Commission's recommendation not to restitute the Guelph Treasure. Although they had given assurances that they would follow the Advisory Commission's recommendation, they attempted to enforce their alleged claims in US courts from 2015 onwards. After many years of litigation and a decision by the Supreme Court in 2023, the courts finally declared that they had no jurisdiction. It is a key concern of the SPK that such a course of events is not repeated.

In the SPK's view, clarification of the following aspects, which are also specified as prerequisites for referral to the Advisory Commission in its Rules of Procedure, is key to this:

The original composition of the consortium that sold the Guelph Treasure in 1935 is not fully known, despite extensive research by the SPK. However, only all legal successors of the aggrieved party are jointly entitled to assert a just and fair solution in accordance with the Washington Principles according to the guidelines (the so-called "Handreichung"). There is currently no such joint assertion.

To date, it has not been possible to discuss this issue constructively with the various claimants, as they are not acting jointly. Instead, the SPK continues to be exposed to competing claims.

Various legal successors of individual consortium members are represented by different authorised representatives. In addition, the applicants from 2008 continue to take the view that they alone are "the primary claimants affected in their own right" and would also be able to act "as advocates and legal representatives for all parties potentially involved in this matter". The representatives of the other known heirs expressly disagreed with this assessment.

The SPK has dealt with more than 50 restitution cases since 1998 and has found various solutions. Over 360 works of art and more than 2000 books have been returned to the entitled heirs. At the same time, the SPK continues to actively examine its holdings for cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution. The staff responsible for provenance research have many years of experience and have also conducted extensive research into the Guelph Treasure. Due to the importance of the transaction in 1935, there are extensive written sources on the subject. After the heirs of Alice Koch, who were not represented in the original proceedings, submitted new, previously unknown documents in 2022, which show that this consortium member had to pay Reich Flight Tax a few months after the sale of the Guelph Treasure, the SPK once again attempted to research the composition of the consortium and supplement the facts. Holdings from around 70 archives from all over Germany, Europe and the USA were examined for this purpose. According to the SPK's assessment, however, the new information found does not reveal any significant changes with regard to the process of the sale of the Guelph Treasure. The Advisory Commission would comment on this in detail during the proceedings.

On the circumstances of the historical sale of the Guelph Treasure in 1935: https://www.spkmagazin.de/warum-ist-der-welfenschatz-kein-ns-raubgut.html