Category Archives: Restitution

German ‘Advisory Commission’ to be Replaced by an Arbitration Framework

Posted on: March 20, 2024 by Matthias Weller

On Wednesday last week, 13 March 2024, the German Federal Government, the Governments of the Laender and the Representatives of the German Municipalities announced that they had agreed on replacing the German ‘Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property’: see here and here (at […]

The Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art: The Next 25 Years

Posted on: January 14, 2024 by Matthias Weller

A number of events and presentations marked the 25th anniversary of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. Among these were “Marking 25 Years of the Washington Principles – Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art“ at the Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of German-Jewish History and Culture at New York on 3 December 2023, but also, for […]

Book Launch for New Publication on Parthenon Marbles Dispute by IAL Director

Posted on: October 18, 2023 by Ephraim Tan

The dispute over the Parthenon (or Elgin) Marbles is known to many. Yet, the issues in dispute have often been clouded by rhetoric and the parties’ entrenched positions. What are the legalities which surround the Marbles’ removal from Athens in the first years of the 19th century? What is the ethical situation of their continued […]

Spoliation Advisory Panel Recommends Return of Courbet Painting to Original Owners

Posted on: May 5, 2023 by Lilian Palmer

The UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel, which handles claims relating to lost possession of cultural property during the Nazi era, has not published a new report in seven years. As such, their most recent recommendation, published on 28 March 2023, is particularly worthy of note. The Panel has recommended that a landscape painting by leading French […]

The ups and downs of Turkish repatriation in New York

Posted on: March 24, 2023 by Alexander Herman

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, is a busy man. Not only is he the one deciding whether to bring charges against former President Donald Trump, but he has also been occupied with repatriation events this week. Such handover ceremonies are of course only the final stage in longstanding investigations undertaken by the D.A.’s Antiquities […]

NAGPRA Revisions Offer Hope

Posted on: January 16, 2023 by Stephanie Drawdy

In Addressing Cultural and Historic Injustices Against Native Americans In the last days of 1890, U.S. cavalry silenced the voices of approximately 250 Lakota at South Dakota’s Wounded Knee Creek during a murderous attack on the group that included a majority of women and children; opportunists then thieved their makeshift graves. The human remains and sacred […]

Latest issue of our journal Art Antiquity and Law available now

Posted on: November 26, 2022 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

The latest issue of Art Antiquity and Law has now been published and hard copies are being sent to subscribers and members, with the digital version available online to subscribers who have chosen this option. This issue contains a thought-provoking piece by Alexander Herman in which he points out that the recent Charities Act 2022 […]

Heirs of Jewish Collector win back the family’s Kandinsky

Posted on: October 9, 2022 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

A pioneer of abstract art in the early 20th century, Kandinsky is still making the headlines today because of a link between Holocaust-looted art and claims involving his works. The present case, in this regard, is no different. However, an important point of distinction about the present case that is worthy of note and close […]

Museums, restitution and the new Charities Act

Posted on: September 25, 2022 by Alexander Herman

An important change to charity law that will affect the ability of museums in England and Wales to return collection items was passed by Parliament in February as part of the Charities Act 2022 and is due to come into force this autumn [update, see below]. Charity law is especially important in the cultural sector […]

NY Law Calls For Museum Transparency About Nazi-Loot

Posted on: August 22, 2022 by Stephanie Drawdy

From the Adirondacks to the Lower East Side, New York museums face a new legal requirement for their collections – a measure of candor about objects traded during Hitler’s terror reign. On 10 August 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a multi-faceted package of legislation “aimed at honoring and supporting Holocaust survivors”. Effective immediately, […]