Posted on: May 7, 2021 by Emily Gould
In mid-March this year, the German government announced that it was close to finalising plans to return to Nigeria Benin Bronzes from around 25 of its museums. The statement was swiftly followed by news of proposed returns from corners of the globe as disparate as Aberdeen and California. Developments were also in evidence in the […]
Posted on: February 12, 2021 by Stephanie Drawdy
The much-anticipated ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Welfenschatz (or ‘Guelph Treasure’) restitution case (previously discussed here) was issued on 3 February 2021, rendering precedent on the interpretation of the ‘expropriation exception’ of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).[1] Enacted to lift the “baseline presumption of immunity” given to foreign states under the […]
Posted on: February 10, 2021 by Georgiana Stables
On Saturday 6th February, we hosted our second virtual study forum. It was a full day of captivating and perceptive talks by a range of speakers within the art law field. To kick-start the day, Dr Donna Yates (Associate Professor, Maastricht University) spoke about a Cambodian sculpture stolen from Koh Ker during the Cambodian Civil […]
Posted on: January 7, 2021 by Stephanie Drawdy
In March 2020, the U.S. State Department issued the ‘Just Act Report’, a 196-page document with a laudable goal – furthering long-delayed justice for Holocaust victims, survivors and heirs. It is described as an “essential tool” to show the U.S. Congress where restitution efforts are lagging across the globe. The rather disheartening results show a […]
Posted on: December 17, 2020 by Alexander Herman
An interesting debate has taken place in France between its two chambers of Parliament: the Senate and the National Assembly. It has arisen in the context of a Bill presented at the National Assembly on 16 July to restitute to the countries of Benin and Senegal a total of 27 items held within French public […]
Posted on: October 26, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy
The Cassirer heirs recently received another negative ruling in their lawsuit to recover a Nazi-looted painting by French Impressionist Camille Pissarro, but this case has not yet ended. The heirs indicated their intent to request a rehearing of the Ninth Circuit’s holding that, under Spanish law, title to the Pissarro is rightly held by the […]
Posted on: September 8, 2020 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes
We are pleased to announce that the latest issue (Vol XXV, 2) of our journal Art Antiquity & Law is available now, please see below for details on subscriptions and access. Paul Kearns provides the readers with a comprehensive panorama of the international legal regulations on freedom of artistic expression, a fundamental but much overlooked and […]
Posted on: August 21, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy
A collection of ecclesiastical art known as the Guelph Treasure (Welfenschatz) is at the center of a U.S. restitution claim brought by heirs of Holocaust victims who sold it during the Nazi reign, previously discussed here. Having held the highly valued collection for approximately six decades, Germany is unwilling to part with what it considers […]
Posted on: July 21, 2020 by Alexander Herman
Last week, the legal review of a bill under consideration by the French government was released. Following President Macron’s statement on the restitution of artefacts to African countries in November 2017 and the release of the controversial Sarr Savoy Report the following year, this is the first we’ve heard about specific legislation on the topic. […]
Posted on: July 1, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy
The full story of the billion-dollar art collection gathered by Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt during World War II may never be told. After years spent trying to determine the collection’s history, the prior owners of a large majority of those works remain unknown. This is a story we have followed with interest throughout its […]