The relic in question is the Łaski Statutes, the first codification of law published in the Kingdom of Poland.
Dating from 1506, it is one of the oldest preserved Polish legal acts. In 2016, it was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World list.
Of the two extant copies of the Łaski Statutes, one is kept in the collections of the Central Archive of Historical Records in Warsaw. The other was among the many works of art and relics plundered during the Swedish invasion and occupation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the mid-17th century, known as the Deluge.
In his letter to the Swedish foreign minister, Söder, a member of the Sweden Democrats parliamentary group, acknowledged that his country followed a restrictive policy on the question of returning looted cultural and historical treasures to former owners.
He asked, however, “whether in view of Poland’s concern for the security of Sweden and a speedy ratification by the Polish parliament of Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the foreign ministry should not consider a goodwill gesture and come up with an initiative to return the Łaski Statutes?”
Polish lawmakers last Thursday voted overwhelmingly to approve the enlargement of NATO to include Finland and Sweden in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(mk/gs)