Posted on: July 17, 2019 by Emily Gould
From 1st October 2019, damage to heritage assets will, for the first time, be a factor courts must take into account when sentencing those convicted of certain arson and criminal damage offences. Following a recent consultation, the UK Sentencing Council published new guidelines on 3rd July, intended to enable courts take full account of the harm […]
Posted on: June 17, 2019 by Emily Gould
Readers may recall our post a few months ago focused on the problem of money laundering in the art trade, and in particular, the adoption by the European Parliament of the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD), to be implemented by Member States by 10th January 2020. In anticipation of the implementation in the UK, the Government, […]
Posted on: April 29, 2019 by Emily Gould
In the most recent of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum’s excellent Culture in Crisis lecture series, Leila Amineddoleh, New York-based art and cultural heritage lawyer, shared some fascinating insights into stories of theft, looting and restitution through the ages in a talk last Thursday, 25th April 2019. Leila practices in the art law field and […]
Posted on: February 4, 2019 by Emily Gould
It is rare that the somewhat dry and complex topic of anti-money laundering regulation hits the headlines in the art world. Introduce an A-list celebrity and a couple of paintings by names such as Basquiat and Picasso, however, and the stakes are raised. In June 2017 the online forum artnet news reported on an investigation […]
Posted on: February 2, 2019 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds
On 24 January 2019 IAL Senior Researcher Emily Gould and I attended a workshop on heritage crime organised by Historic England. The aim of the workshop was to present to the attendees the various types of heritage crime that can be committed, how the perpetrators can be convicted and appropriate sentences to be handed down […]
Posted on: December 3, 2018 by Emily Gould
It barely seems possible that we are fast approaching the first anniversary of the UK’s ratification of the Hague Convention 1954. 12th December 2017 marked the entry into force of the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Act 2017, which saw the UK, finally, making a formal commitment to adhere to the Convention’s obligations for the protection […]
Posted on: July 1, 2018 by Emily Gould
The 2018 Transatlantic Cultural Property Crime Symposium held on 28th and 29th June 2018 promised a varied and wide-ranging approach to current issues in heritage crime. It certainly did not disappoint on that score. The conference, organised jointly by Queen Mary University of London, Mount Saint Mary College, New York and the University of Maryland […]
Posted on: September 11, 2017 by Emily Gould
“Scientists shoot rocks!” This was the opening line of a fascinating discussion exploring innovative methods of evidencing the destruction of cultural heritage in conflict zones held at the V&A last Friday evening (8 September). The event was part of the V&A’s ‘Culture in Crisis’ programme which seeks to raise awareness of the need to protect […]
Posted on: August 30, 2017 by IAL Admin
A UK man, Toby Robyns, was apprehended ten days ago by Turkish authorities, as he tried to leave Turkey with a dozen coins. He had found the coins with his children on the seabed while snorkelling. He is still in prison, awaiting a decision by the Turkish courts. Our Assistant Director, Alexander Herman, was interviewed […]
Posted on: August 22, 2017 by Alexander Herman
Last week, the International Criminal Court in the Hague pronounced on the amount in reparations to be paid in last year’s Al Mahdi case. And it was a hefty sum: €2.7 million has been levied against the defendant, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, for his role in overseeing the destruction of ten cultural monuments in […]