Posted on: May 26, 2015 by Nina M. Neuhaus
On 13 May, the Institute of Art and Law with the generous support of Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP hosted a seminar exploring a variety of legal issues surrounding international art transactions. Here is a brief summary: The first speaker was Professor Norman Palmer (3 Stone Buildings), who discussed the various risks associated with the international transfer of cultural […]
Posted on: May 14, 2015 by Alexander Herman
A great seminar yesterday afternoon at Maurice Turnor Gardner in London, with a broad range of topics covered: conflicts of laws, title to ancient artefacts, vesting statutes, negligence in art appraisal, export licensing, customs warehousing, import VAT and freeports. I think it’s fair to say that our speakers covered most, if not all, of the […]
Posted on: April 29, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Earlier this month, it was reported that Canada was returning a 900-year-old sandstone statue to India. This was done with all the necessary pomp and ceremony, with each nation’s prime minister more than ready for a dual photo op with the piece. Of course it represented much more than mere cultural restitution: as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, cultural relations between […]
Posted on: April 2, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Last month, the UK government finally responded to the Department for Culture Media & Sport’s consultation regarding changes to the cultural object export licensing system which took place between May and August 2012. The response indicated the changes that will be brought about to the export system and which have already been incorporated by the Arts Council in […]
Posted on: March 31, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
On Wednesday 13 May 2015 from 2-5.30 pm there will be an Institute of Art & Law seminar in association with Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP held at the firm’s London offices in Milton Street EC2Y 9BH. The seminar will explore the legal issues surrounding international art transactions, covering questions of title, customs duties and freeports, working with foreign […]
Posted on: February 11, 2015 by Nina M. Neuhaus
The Swiss police have seized a 61 x 45.5cm oil painting depicting the marquise Isabella d’Este from a vault of a trust company in Lugano, the southern part of Switzerland bordering Italy. Isabella d’Este, an influential figure in arts and politics during the Italian Renaissance, allegedly commissioned the portrait from Leonardo da Vinci. The portrait, […]
Posted on: January 14, 2015 by Nina M. Neuhaus
On 17 December 2014, the Swiss Federal Council extended the existing sanctions against Syria by introducing a trade ban on cultural objects which were stolen or illegally exported from Syria. The EU had introduced a similar trade ban on 13 December 2013. According to Article 11c, which was inserted by the EU Council Regulation No 1332/2013 […]
Posted on: December 8, 2014 by Mathilde Roellinger
The French Constitutional Council, in a decision rendered on 14 November 2014, declared that article 2 of the law of 23 June 1941 concerning the export of works of art did not comply with the Constitution. The application for a priority preliminary ruling was submitted by an owner of precious furniture who, in the 1980s, […]
Posted on: November 19, 2014 by Alexander Herman
The US Congress will soon be entertaining a Bill, proposed last Thursday, that seeks to offer protection for endangered Syrian cultural objects and that would set up a Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protection (what American cultural heritage lawyer Rick St. Hilaire calls a cultural property protection “czar”). These are of course welcome developments. The protection […]
Posted on: August 4, 2014 by Nina M. Neuhaus
The Facts In May 2014, the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (‘Specialized Body‘) handed over 150 Roman coins to Serbia. The majority of these coins date from the 4th century A.D. and are made of bronze. Following their illegal excavation in Serbia, the coins were […]