ARCA (Association for Research into Crimes Against Art) has released the Speakers list for next month’s Art & Heritage Conference June 21-23 in Amelia, Italy. I will be presenting on the history of World War II restitution litigation in the United States, its effectiveness, and its prospects for the future. The full list is below. Hope to… Continue Reading
Category Archives: World War II
Subscribe to World War II RSS FeedPresentation to the 5th Annual ARCA Art Crime Conference June 21-23, 2013
Posted in Cultural Property, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War III will be speaking at the 5th annual Art Crime Conference held by ARCA (Association for Research into Crimes Against Art) in Amelia, Italy between June 21-23, 2013. My talk will address Holocaust restitution litigation in the United States, similar to the paper I gave in Maastricht in March but covering important more recent developments as… Continue Reading
DC Circuit Reinstates All Claims that Were Dismissed in Herzog Case Against Hungary-UPDATED
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IIThe 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
Russia Swiftly Lashes Out At Sanctions Concerning Schneerson/Chabad Library, U.S. Government Still Silent
Posted in Cultural Property, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IIDespite refusing to participate in a lawsuit for nearly three years since a judgment that ordered the return to the Chabad Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn of the late Rebbe Menachem Schneerson’s library, the Russian Federation swiftly spoke up when news came of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s order yesterday sanctioning and… Continue Reading
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
The Art Law Report to Present Paper in Maastricht, the Netherlands
Posted in Events, Restitution, World War III will be in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on March 24-25, 2013 at the Art and Heritage Law Conference to present my forthcoming paper to be published in the Special Issue of Transnational Dispute Management, “Art and Heritage Disputes.” The paper (and my presentation) will re-assess the effectiveness of American litigation in the last 15 years… Continue Reading
Combining the Nazi Theft Exception in Senate Bill 2212 with Immunity from Seizure: Good Policy or Inconsistent Law?
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IIOpposition to Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (a bill the Art Law Report favors in its frequent commentaries) has been renewed recently. Senate Bill 2212 (already passed by the House of Representatives) would remove the mere display of a work of art in the United States as a satisfactory… Continue Reading
Hans Sachs Collection Epilogue: Posters to Go on Sale in New York at Guernsey’s
Posted in Restitution, World War IIThe Hans Sachs collection that the Bundesgerichtshof in Karlsruhe ordered in March be returned to the Sachs heirs will be put up for auction in New York. The collection had more than 12,000 posters by artist that included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ludwig Hohlwein, Lucian Bernhard and Jules Cheret. The Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, a… Continue Reading
Restitution Case Against Czech Republic and Museums Dismissed
Posted in Restitution, World War IIThe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has dismissed—for a second time—a lawsuit filed there by former attorney Edward Fagan seeking the restitution of various works of art in the National Gallery in Prague and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. A novel strategy of bringing the case not by the… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Rules Schiele Drawing Not Stolen by Nazis
Posted in Cultural Property, Restitution, World War IIThe Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the judgment against David Bakalar concerning ownership of the drawing Seated Woman with Bent Left Leg (Torso). It is a notable decision first and foremost because it affirms the District Court ruling on the merits of whether the drawing was stolen by the Nazis from the Austrian-Jewish collector… Continue Reading
“Restitution and Repatriation, the Return of Cultural Objects” at DePaul University Next Month
Posted in Antiquities, Cultural Property, Restitution, World War IINext month’s symposium at DePaul University College of Law Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law entitled “Restitution and Repatriation, the Return of Cultural Objects” looks terrific. The keynote speaker will be Lynn Nicholas of The Rape of Europa fame, and other topics include provenance research, museum acquisitions, and the moral and ethical quandaries posed… 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
Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Amendment Coverage Continues to Miss the Mark: NPR Report Claims Bill Could “Thwart Return of Holocaust Art”
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIs it time to invoke the Corollary to Godwin’s Law of Nazi Analogies (i.e., as a discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler increases, and once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically the argument ) concerning Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional… 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
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
Von Saher claim against Norton Simon Museum dismissed as preempted under foreign affairs doctrine.
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, Uncategorized, World War IIRaising another hurdle to restitution claims, the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the Norton Simon Museum to the remnants of the famed Jacques Goudstikker collection, on the grounds that her case is preempted by the United States’ foreign affairs doctrine. In an unusually apologetic decision, the court ruled that regardless of the merits… 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
Poster Collection Seized by Nazis Ordered Returned by German High Court
Posted in Collections, Restitution, World War IICatherine Hickley of Bloomberg reports today from Berlin about a court-ordered return of more than 4,000 once owned by Hans Sachs, a Jewish dentist chased out of Nazi Germany. The Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) is Germany’s highest civil court, and handed down the decision. At one time, Sachs’s collection had more than 12,000 posters by artist… 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
Full Appeal of Herzog Heirs’ Case Against Hungarian Museums Allowed
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War IIAs discussed earlier in the Art Law Report, the Herzog heirs’ case against several Hungarian national museums survived dismissal (apart from their claims to 11 paintings whose ownership was litigated in Hungary previously). The remaining question was how much of the case would be heard on appeal: only the narrow question of Hungary’s sovereign immunity,… Continue Reading
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