The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the entire set of claims brought by the Herzog heirs against the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Applied Arts, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The appellate decision focuses on the claim that an agreement was reached after WWII… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: FSIA
Russia Sanctioned $50,000 per day for Defiance of Chabad Library Judgment that Led to Art and Cultural Loan Embargo
Posted in Cultural Property, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIIn a case that has tested the principles of how a defiant sovereign defendant can be compelled to comply with a court order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has taken an emphatic step in an order issued today. The Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, the Russian… Continue Reading
Charles Schumer’s Co-Sponsorship of Senate Bill 2212 Could Signal Movement
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Legislation, Senate Bill 2212The federal register this week noted the addition on November 27, 2012 of Charles Schumer, New York’s senior Senator, as a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, the proposed amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act that would exempt from the FSIA the loan of certain cultural objects… Continue Reading
Happy (early) Birthday to the Art Law Report!
Posted in Collections, Copyright, Cultural Property, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, RestitutionWe launched the Art Law Report one year ago tomorrow. Several dozen posts, thousands of visitors and many more views later, a very special thank you to everyone who has read and followed the blog. The connections made literally all around the world are humbling and enlightening. We continue to strive to provide an interesting… Continue Reading
U.S. Asks Court Not to Sanction Russian Defendants in Chabad Library Case—What Now?
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IICasting further doubt on the practical possibility of using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to recover cultural artifacts, the U.S. Government has at long last weighed in on the Chabad plaintiffs’ request for contempt sanctions against the Russian defendants, defendants who have defied for more than two years a judgment to return the library of… Continue Reading
Best Case for Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (S.B. 2212) May Have been Made by its Sponsors
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IIPerhaps lost in the coverage about Senate Bill 2212 (the Art Law Report no less than anyone else) to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to preclude claims against defendants whose “commercial activity” is limited to the loan of artwork whose ownership is in dispute, is the case made by the sponsors of the bill… Continue Reading
The Other Von Saher Shoe Drops: Cassirer v. Kingdom of Spain Dismissed Under Foreign Affairs Preemption
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Legislation, Preemption, Restitution, World War IIAn emerging new defense to wartime art restitution claims has claimed another case. Although still confined to one district in California, the trend of dismissing such claims as better suited to resolution through the foreign affairs operations of the federal government simply cannot be ignored; wartime claims already struggling to overcome statutes of limitations could… Continue Reading
Court in Chabad Library Case Solicits Views of the United States on the Foreign Relations Impact of Holding Russia in Contempt
Posted in Collections, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIDespite some predictions (!) of a swift ruling on the Chabad plaintiffs’ motion for contempt for the Russian state library defendants’ refusal to comply with an order two years ago to return the library of Menachem Schneerson, the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC today solicited the views of the United States on the possibility of… Continue Reading
Despite Criticism of S.B. 2212’s Proposed Amendment to the FSIA, New Law Would Not Enable Stolen Art
Posted in Collections, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, World War IIDoreen Carvajal of the New York Times this week addressed Senate Bill 2212, (the “Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act”) this week, a bill approved in March by the House of Representatives. The article gives those most critical of the bill a chance to make their case. While well-intentioned, that criticism continues to miss… Continue Reading
Portrait of Wally in Hindsight: What did it Really Change?
Posted in Customs, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure ActA new piece at the Art Newspaper reflects on the importance of the Portrait of Wally case. Wally was seized in 1998 by customs officials on the theory that it was stolen property when imported into the U.S. The painting sat in a warehouse for 12 years, until a settlement returned the painting to Vienna in… Continue Reading
Commentary Takes Shape on S.B. 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
Posted in Collections, Customs, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIt’s been a few weeks since the House passed the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4086) and sent it on to the Senate for consideration as S.B. 2212. It has bipartisan sponsorship there (Dianne Feinstein and Orrin Hatch), but no word yet on when it will be put to a vote. As… Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act: House Votes to Amend FSIA to Exclude Artwork Loan as Basis for Jurisdiction
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Legislation, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IIThe House of Representatives approved the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act on March 19, 2012, to remove the display of a work of art in the United States as basis to sue a foreign sovereign here. The law touches on important distinctions between immunity from suit—when a party cannot be sued at all—from… Continue Reading
Russian Art Embargo News: Chabad Negotiations Over Russian Library Fail, Renewed Request for Contempt Sought
Posted in Collections, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IIAfter months of inactivity and intimations of a possible settlement, the Chabad plaintiffs seeking the return of the Schneerson library have had enough, and have renewed their request to the District Court to sanction the defendants who have not complied with prior orders to return the library. A brief recap: various Russian state libraries have… Continue Reading
The 2nd Circuit Pulls Back on the Reach of the FSIA, Upholds Dismissal of Claim Against Switzerland for Van Gogh Drawing
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IIAfter recent expansions of the scope of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has narrowed that statute’s route of access to the courthouse again. The 2nd Circuit affirmed on November 30, 2011 the District Court’s March 11, 2011 dismissalof Andrew Orkin’s claims to recover a Vincent Van Gogh drawing against the… Continue Reading
Subscribe via RSS
Join Me on Facebook
View My Linkedin Profile
Follow Me on Twitter