Amal Clooney Relieved Of Role As Adviser By Greek Government

Amal Clooney has taken on some high-profile human rights cases over her career as a human rights barrister, and her most recent role was representing an entire government as an adviser. This position has now, reportedly, been relinquished from Mrs. Clooney.

The Daily Mail notes that Amal was “hired by the [Greek] government to advise on a possible court case.” The court case, which Clooney was to be the lead adviser on, involved precious marbles that have been in Britain’s possession, yet originate from Greece. The case was “aimed at forcing the British Museum to give up the [Elgin marble] sculptures, which originally came from the Parthenon temple.”

The Greek government has since decided to hold off on taking the Brits to court, seeing as they are now aware that if the case is lost, they may never be able to reclaim the priceless marbles that are of such importance to them. As the Daily Mail notes, Culture Minister Aristides Baltas relayed to the parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the government will not proceed with the case to win back the sculptures.

“We will not proceed with legal claims because we are at risk of losing the case.”

The government, therefore, is not in need of Amal’s services and has decided to attempt to get the marbles back by way of diplomatic means.

Clooney and her fellow barristers, who were originally hired to be on the case, have since been let go. Each has been given the full payment that was promised, however. The payout was a sizable chunk at £200,000 and was paid by a wealthy ship owner who was eager to see his country retrieve the beloved Marbles.

The Daily Mail shares the proceedings and suggestions given by Clooney and her team of barristers once hired on by the nation of Greece.

“Earlier this year, Mrs Clooney and other lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers delivered a 150-page report to the Greek government advising them on their legal options.One suggestion was to challenge the UK’s possession of the monuments at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.”

The decision to hold off on going forward with a case mainly has to do with a change in leadership since the planning for the case had begun. It was a conservative party that was in power and saw reclaiming the sculptures of great importance earlier in the year. However, there has since been a shift to a very left-wing government that finds the battle for the Marbles of far less importance.

In an interview with the Times, the current Culture Minister is fearful of a loss and agrees with the new leadership choices to hold off.

“[It] would strip Greece of the right to reclaim the Marbles once and for all’, meaning that it would be better to pursue ‘political and diplomatic’ options to assert its claim. The legal services of Mrs Clooney and her legal team are no longer required. Not for now, at least.”

The former culture minister, Constantine Tasoulas, has called the new government out on turning away from the efforts and has accused them of having a “defeatist attitude” toward the campaign his government had hired Amal Clooney for, which was initiated to reclaim the Marbles to Athens.

The Daily Mail reminds of the history attached to the priceless Marbles that have caused barristers, including Clooney, to be summoned.

The Elgin Marbles have stood in the British Museum for nearly 200 years after Lord Elgin removed them from the site where they stood on the Acropolis in Athens. He received permission to take the sculptures from the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece at the time, but subsequent Greek governments have never accepted the UK’s ownership of the statues.

[Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images]