Uta Werner, the cousin of late Cornelius Gurlitt, has decided to appeal against the judgment of the Probate Court in Munich (Amtsgericht München). In its judgment, the Probate Court as Court of First Instance has granted the Museum of Fine Arts Bern’s application for a certificate of inheritance and, at the same time, rejected a similar application by Ms Werner.

The Probate Court will now assess the appeal. If the Probate Court grants Ms Werner’s appeal, this would result in the revision of its initial judgment. This would require the Probate Court to hear all parties involved one more time. If the Probate Court does not grant Ms Werner’s appeal, it will refer the case directly to the Higher Regional Court in Munich (Oberlandesgericht München) as the Court of Second Instance.

The on-going court proceedings are preventing the Museum from taking physical possession of the Gurlitt collection. In its press release, the Museum confirmed that its activities with regards to the Gurlitt collection would remain limited as long as the matter has not been resolved. In particular, the planned Swiss Gurlitt Taskforce would not start its research.

However, the Probate Court ensured that the appeal had no influence on the on-going restitution of the three paintings of Gurlitt’s art collection which have been confirmed as looted by the Nazis.

Source: Press Release of the Probate Court in Munich dated 28th April 2015.