Posted on: September 26, 2018 by Holly Woodhouse
Hedge funds are competing with a consortium of British museums to purchase 5,500 artefacts salvaged from the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912 with the loss of 1,500 lives. The current owner of the artefacts, Premier Exhibitions, is selling them after filing for bankruptcy in the United States in 2016. The […]
Posted on: September 4, 2018 by Alexander Herman
A once-in-a-generation case has caused major ripples in the Canadian museum world. And we’re not talking about the attempted sale of a Chagall by the National Gallery of Canada this spring. No, this was an actual court case, before the Federal Court of Canada, to determine whether the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (the […]
Posted on: July 19, 2018 by Makoto Shimada
On 1st June 2018, the Kokkai, the National Diet of Japan, enacted the Substantial Amendment to the Law for the Protection of Cultural Property. The new Act will come into force on 1st April 2019. Under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, cultural property with historical or artistic value is selected by the government […]
Posted on: May 13, 2018 by Elizabeth Pearson
Aboriginal cultural heritage law in New South Wales is facing its biggest reform in more than 40 years. The State Government invited public comment and is currently considering submissions received on a draft bill to create a standalone Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act,[i] amid widespread agreement that legislative change is long overdue.[ii] Aboriginal and Torres Strait […]
Posted on: May 5, 2018 by Paul Stevenson
Last Friday, the UN cultural agency UNESCO called on Colombia not to exploit commercially the three centuries’ old wreck of the Spanish galleon, San Jose, hailed by some as “the holy grail of shipwrecks”. Reports suggest that the San Jose contains a cargo worth billions of dollars. Colombian authorities reportedly intend to recover the San […]
Posted on: March 6, 2018 by Kiri Cragin Folwell
On Saturday 3rd March 2018 we were pleased to host an all-day study forum in London at the Queen Mary University’s Centre for Commercial Law Studies. The event had talks from expert speakers covering specific areas related to art and cultural heritage law. Talks included: ‘The Implementation of the Hague Convention and the work of […]
Posted on: February 5, 2018 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes
The Nazca Lines in southern Peru are possibly one of the most mind-boggling archaeological sites in the world. Filled with various geoglyphs, they are about 2,000 years old and cover an enormous area of roughly 450 square kilometres. They are an icon of Nazca culture and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. […]
Posted on: November 24, 2017 by Alexander Herman
The Institute of Art & Law was in Doha, Qatar last week providing an in-house training course on art, law and collections management for Qatar Museums, the governmental body that oversees the state-owned museums in the small Persian Gulf state. The course included one day on intellectual property and collections, another on contracts, acquisitions and […]
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 […]