• Chabad Appeal Opinion, June, 13, 2008
• Chabad - Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction, January, 27, 2009
• After the Holocaust: Charismatic Jewish Group Wages International Legal Fight for Its Spiritual Soul, by Edwin Black, The Cutting Edge (February 10, 2009)
• Howard Spiegler, presentation on the Chabad Case, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Boston, November 15, 2009
• Court Order (October 27, 2009) declaring the Russian Federation in default in the lawsuit and asking Chabad to move for judgment against the defendant.

CASES AND RECOVERY EXPERIENCE

Russia: Chabad Seeks to Recover its Archives and Library

The case of Chabad suing several entities in Russia is one of the most important recent examples of claimants trying to recover art and cultural property from the former Soviet Union. The library and archives sought in this case were collected by Chabad's leaders over generations and form the textual basis of the spiritual beliefs of the Chabad-Lubovitch movement of Orthodox Judaism. Over a period of ninety years these documents were taken from Chabad, and different parts were moved on several occasions across borders, creating a convoluted trail involving the early Bolshevik government and its successors as well as several entities in the Russian Federation today.

Chabad brought its quest to courts in the United States, and some of the important court papers are provided here. Among several fascinating aspects of this case is the willingness of the American court to hear a claim against a foreign sovereign.

Over a period of months, the Russian Federation failed to participate any longer, and on October 27, 2009 Royce C. Lamberth, Chief Judge in the U.S. District Court entered an order of default and ordered Chabad to move for a judgment on the default "...with proof satisfactory to the court."