Restitution requests to the collections of the University of Zurich

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The University of Zurich has set up a Coordination Office for Restitution Claims. This enables individuals and institutions to contact the office if they wish to assert claims for the return of objects and human remains from the university's collections.

The Coordination Office for Restitution Claims accepts applications, reviews them within the framework of a defined procedure, and forwards them to the relevant university departments for further processing.

The university undertakes to treat incoming claims with due care, transparency, and in accordance with recognized scientific standards.

As of September 9, 2025

The Regulations on the Handling of Restitution Claims govern the responsibilities and procedures relating to inquiries and restitution claims for objects, human remains, and collections involving sensitive contexts. They specify how requests are to be handled, what role the University's museums and collections play, and in which cases an Advisory Board is to be involved. The decision-making authority is the University Executive Board or the University Council.

The regulations form the legal basis for processing restitution claims at the University of Zurich. They ensure that requests are examined according to uniform, transparent, and scientifically sound criteria.

Regulations on Restitution Claims (PDF) de

The Advisory Board for Restitution Claims meets twice a year and also holds extraordinary meetings as needed.

The following individuals have been appointed to the Advisory Board for Restitution Claims:

• Prof. Dr. Alice Hertzog-Fraser, Director of the Museum of Ethnology andAssistant Professor with Tenure Track for Ethnology at ISEK, University of Zurich (Chair of the Advisory Board)
• Prof. Dr. Martin Dusinberre, Professor for Global History, Department of History, University of Zurich (Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board)
• Dr. Georg Gerleigner, Research Associate and Provenance Researcher at the Berlin State Museums – Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
• Prof. Dr. Felix Uhlmann, Chair of Constitutional and Administrative Law and Legislative Theory, University of Zurich
• Prof. Dr. Corinna Reinhardt and Prof. Dr. Michael Krützen, Chairpersons of the Conference of Institutes with Museums and Collections, University of Zurich
• Dr. Holger Stoecker, Research Associate at the Institute for Medieval and Modern History, University of Göttingen
• Prof. Dr. Larissa Forster, Director of the Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt, Honorary Professor at the Institute for European Ethnology at Humboldt University in Berlin

The Museums and Collections Office acts as the coordination center for restitution claims. It receives relevant reports, conducts initial preliminary investigations, and provides advice, support, and mediation services throughout the university.

To protect your personal data, we ask that you initially refrain from sending confidential documents. Please send your restitution request directly to the following email address: restitution_office@uzh.ch

Decisions on restitution claims adressed to the University of Zurich are made by the University Executive Board or the University Council.

Preliminary examinations and clarifications are carried out by the relevant museums and collections in cooperation with the Museums and Collections Office and the Advisory Board for Restitution Claims.

The University Executive Board or the University Council bases its decisions on:

• the legal basis (national law, international agreements),
• the university guidelines for objects, human remains, and collections involving sensitive contexts,
• and the recommendations of the Advisory Board.

In cases with significant financial implications, the provisions of financial law must also be observed. In special circumstances or in the event of disagreement between the parties, the independent Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage may be involved.