But the Khedivate of Egypt has a direct successor state - the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Sikh Empire, Durrani Empire, and Princely state of Kashimr and Jammu do not - this is why tensions are always high between India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
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Right. But the point I'm making is that even in the case of Egypt, where succession is clear, the items often aren't returned. Which makes the "unclear who to give it to" sound more like an excuse than a legitimate reason in the other cases.
And it's a fair point, but not exactly apples to oranges. It was "just" Zahi Hawass who made the formal request back in 2003. What if it was Sisi or Morsi or Mubarak who requested this at the nation state level. A request from a minister is not exactly equal to that of a head of state. I know this feels pedantic, but welcome to the world of policy, IR, and jurisprudence. The Kohinoor question is different from the Rosetta Stone as there is an additional Inter-Nation and Intra-National gray area that expands the complexity, which also expands the cost of litigation, which in turn is of questionable value when all the countries have higher priorities between each other, internally, and UK relations.
From an Egyptian viewpoint - a good example might be as follows:
What if an artifact was found in the Gaza Strip in 1955 and taken to the UK, who should the UK return it to? The Gaza Strip government, the West Bank government, the Israeli government, or the Egyptian government?
Edit: cannot reply below -
1. I'm pointing out a specific requirement in IR
2. The Gaza example above is an analogy for the Kohinoor example. I honestly don't care about the Egyptian case because I have no connection with that part of the world and I assume there are different considerations.
So the argument now is that because the head of state of Egypt did not request that, then British shouldn't return this back and refuse the request that came from a minister who was responsible for all Egypt's antiquities affairs?. It does not feel pedantic, it is.
Also the Gaza strip example is just unnecessary hypothetical scenario. The British and french stole a lot of things from all over Egypt. There is no need to imagine hypothetical scenarios.