The April issue of Art Antiquity and Law is now finalised, and hard copy will soon be winging its way to subscribers. For those interested in subscribing, please see here. The April issue contains articles on a range of subjects:

Oliver Lenaerts looks at the ways in which European competition rules apply to standardisation and certification processes in the arts sector. The refusal to include a particular work within a catalogue raisonné of an artist’s work, traditionally an academic undertaking, could, in certain circumstances, constitute an abuse of a dominant position within the meaning of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Elsbeth Dekker reflects on the ways in which the colonial system served to exclude colonial subjects from regimes of protections and guarantees of freedoms, and, by extension, separated them from their cultural objects leaving them with little recourse when those objects were plundered. Rod Thomas examines New Zealand law in relation to potential liability for misrepresentation in art auctions, looking at the law of contract and the extent to which consumer protection legislation protects buyers at art auctions.

Afolasade Adewumi keeps us up to date with an overview of the way in which the Covid 19 pandemic has impacted on the enjoyment of the right to cultural life in Nigeria, and the extent to which curtailments of rights, including cancellation of traditional festivals and the closure of the National Archives, are proportional and reasonably necessary to achieve the aim of protecting the right to life of the general population.

Hao Liu recounts the story of the return of a stolen Buddha head to China from Japan, having regard to the law of both Japan and China concerning title to stolen cultural artefacts. And, to conclude, Noor Kadhim presents a detailed review of Art Law and the Business of Art by Martin Wilson. The issue of the journal is dedicated to Charles Hill, who passed away earlier this year. The image on the cover is a Vermeer that he helped recover during his long and storied career in law enforcement.

Again, if you would like to subscribe to Art Antiquity and Law, now in its 26th year, please see here. For those who subscribe already and are working from home during lockdown, please let us know if your copy should be sent to a different address from the one we have on file.