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Preventing Art Crimes Through Regulation and Self-Regulation: Conference September 30, 2024

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 5, 2024 at 1:20 PM

I am pleased to announce that I will be among the speakers in Milan on September 30, 2024 at a conference organized by the Universitá degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vantivelli and the UNESCO Chair on Business Integrity and Crime Prevention in Art and Antiquities Market: “Preventing Art Crimes Through Regulation and Self-Regulation.” To be held at the Palazzo Visconti, the conference will offer a full day of expert speakers on the topics of Updating the UNESCO International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property; Codes of Conduct, Codes of Ethics and Other Soft Law Tools in Cultural Heritage (in which I will be a discussant); the Legal Impact of Due Diligence Procedures and Acquisition, Anti-Money Laundering in the Art Market; and Industry Practices and Judicial Applications: Lessons to be Learned. The program is below, and registration may be found here.

As the title and expertise of the participants suggest, this will be an excellent broad view of the question of regulation in cultural property, and the extent to which market participants can guide the outcome. It will focus on public-private partnerships for the prevention of wrongdoings against cultural property, and specific attention will be devoted to the role that codes of conduct, due diligence, and KYC procedures play in this area. I am excited to be a part of the event and see many old friends. I hope that if you are nearby you will join us, or attend remotely if you are not.

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Topics: Anne Laure Bandle, Irina Tarsis, Saskia Hufnagel, Events, UNESCO, ARCA, Center for Art Law, Leiden University, Borel & Barbey, Giuseppe Calabi, Sunna Altnoder, Louise Malécot, Stefano Manacorda, Universitá Luigi Vantivelli, Tess Davis, Antiquities Coalition, Alessandra Donati, University of Milan Bicocca, Toshiyuki Kono, Kyushu University, Marc Balcells, Marco Colacurci, Lynda Albertson, Association for Research on Crimes Against Art, Rena Neville, Corinth Consulting Ltd., Arianna Visconti, Universitá Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Umit Turksen, Coventry University, Anna Mosna, Erika Bochereau, CINOA, Riccardo Ercole Omodel, University of Palermo, Eugenio Fusco, Milan Public Prosecutor, Guido Carlo Alleva, Giuseppe Catalano, Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Antonella Crippa, Intesa Sanpaolo, Palazzo Visconti, University Oberta de Catalunya, University of Sydney

Call for Papers and 6th Annual ARCA Interdisciplinary Art Crime Conference, June 28-29, 2014

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on March 31, 2014 at 2:41 AM

It was my great privilege last year to speak at the 5th Annual Art Crime Conference, hosted by the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA). The conference, in Amelia, Italy, annually draws experts in varied fields of law, cultural property, archaeology, law enforcement, and more. It is also held in one of the most spectacular venues I have ever seen, a rocky outcropping , with a medieval Italian city on top of a Roman-era settlement (complete with a cistern at the top of the hill).

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Topics: Interdisciplnary Art Crime Conference, Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, Events, Amelia, ARCA, Italy

Merkel Hints at Putting Gurlitt Lists Online, Calls for Special Tribunal Are Made

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on November 6, 2013 at 4:49 AM

Catherine Hickley reports from Berlin that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is looking into ways to put lists and/or photographs online concerning the Cornelius Gurlitt seizure of roughly 1,400 paintings with connections to Nazi looting. This followed heavy complaints in the first days of the revelation, that the government had failed to identify what has been found. The biggest question remains why this remained a secret for roughly two years since the discovery. Merkel’s government claimed yesterday it learned of the find only in the last few months.

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Topics: Stephanie Barron, Jeu de Paume, unbekannte Meisterwerke, Focus, Hildebrand Gurlitt, Theo Hermsen, S. Lane Faison, Linz Führermuseum, Munich Central Collecting Point, Wiesbaden Collecting Point, HARP, Max Liebermann, WWII, Monuments Men, Alt Aussee, Gurlitt Collection, Max Beckmann, Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, Monuments, Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Naz, Albrecht Dürer, Auktionshaus Lempertz, Entartete Kunst, Fine Arts and Archives Program, Nazis, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Entdeckung verschollener Kunst, beschlagnahmte Bilder, Holocaust Art Project, Judge Arthur Tompkins, Roberts Commission, Angela Merkel, Restitution, 1939 Galerie Fischer auction, World War II, degenerate art, Capt. Doubinsky, Los Angeles County Musuem of Art, Erben, Raubkunst-Bildern, Altmann v. Republic of Austria, Portrait of Wally, Löwenbändiger, Marc Masurovsky, Franz Marc, Oskar Kokoschka, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, München, Pablo Picasso, ARCA, Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservat, Nazi Raubkunst, Henri Matisse, Emil Nolde

ARCA Recaps Fifth Annual Art Crime Conference

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on August 27, 2013 at 5:23 AM

The blog of ARCA, the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, has been running a series of recaps of the June conference in Amelia, Italy at which I was a presenter this past year. The summary of my panel is here (which also included Jerker Rydén and Joris Kila), moderated by Judge Arthur Tompkins, a District Court Judge in New Zealand), and the site contains similar recaps of the other panels. They are worth a detailed read, recalling a fascinating weekend in a stunning locale. Anyone interested in the topics should review the posts and consider the conference and ARCA's summer program.

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Topics: cultural property, Joris Kila, Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, Fifth Annual Art Crime Conference, Judge Arthur Tompkins, Events, Jerker Rydén, ARCA

Blogs to Read and Support

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on July 22, 2013 at 5:11 AM

The ABA Journal is conducting its annual poll of the best 100 blogs. For arts and the law, the blogs I read the most are below. If you are a blog reader, consider casting a vote. We are all engaged in a great conversation, and your voice matters to what we write. If nothing else, read these blogs!

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Topics: Donn Zaretsky, Blogs, MItchell Stein, Kim Herman, Peter Bert, Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, Lee Rosenbaum, Commission for Looted Art in Europe, Plundered Art, CultureGrrl, ARIS, Harry Ekblom, Holocaust Art Research Project, Dispute Resolution in Germany, Looted Art, Marc Masurovsky, The Art Law Blog, ARCA, Trending Trademarks, Business Aviation Law Blog, Center for Art Law

Speakers List for ARCA Art & Heritage Conference Released

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on May 29, 2013 at 10:46 AM

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 see you there!

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Topics: Carrie Johnson, South Texas College of Law, cultural property, Utrecht University, Stefano Alessandrini, Alesia Koush, Joris Kila, James Moore, Toby Bull, Verity Algar, University of Guelph, Joshua Nelson, Ruth Godthelp, Cynthia Roholt, Saskia Hufnagel, James Bond, Caravaggio, Restitution, University of Reading, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Events, World War II, Foundation Romualdo Del Bianco, Royal Armouries at the Royal Armouries Museum in L, Judith Harris, Felicity Strong, Amelia, University of Melbourne, University of Amsterdam, Theodosia Latsi, Jerker Rydén, ARCA, University of Cologna, Giulia Mezzi, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, University College London, Royal Library of Sweden, Chris Dobson, Derek Fincham, Art & Heritage Conference, ARTnews

Presentation to the 5th Annual ARCA Art Crime Conference June 21-23, 2013

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on May 3, 2013 at 7:56 AM

I 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 well (notably the Hungary case).

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Topics: cultural property, Vernon Rapley, Charlie Hill, Art Crime Conference, Howard Spiegler, Maastricht, Carabinieri TPC collectively, Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, John Merryman, Neil Brodie, Jason Felch, Larry Rothfield, Dick Drent, Karl von Habsburg, Restitution, World War II, Lord Colin Renfrew, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Paolo Giorgio Ferri, Stuttgart Detective Ernst Schöller, Francesco Rutelli, Amelia, Ralph Frammolino, ARCA, Italy, Norman Palmer, Dr. Joris Kila, Dr. George H. O. Abungu

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About the Blog


The Art Law Report provides timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities. It is authored by Nicholas M. O'Donnell, partner in our Art & Museum Law Practice.

The material on this site is for general information only and is not legal advice. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage which may result from reliance on it. Always consult a qualified lawyer about a specific legal problem.

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