We were privileged to file today a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of our client, art dealer Alexander Khochinsky. The petition asks the Court for reinstatement of a lawsuit against Poland for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (i.e., sovereign immunity) for Poland’s effort to have Khochinsky extradited from New York as leverage to force him to relinquish a painting that he inherited from his father. The case invokes three provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1605 (the FSIA): the implicit waiver exception, the counterclaim exception, and the non-commercial tort exception. The basis on which we seek the Court’s review is simple: if the holding below is the law, then no one is safe in the United States from any number of rogue regimes that abuse the extradition system for discriminatory and persecutory reasons. To allow this decision to stand is a threat to any American. What if, for example, Turkey pursued a Christian American in similar fashion motivated by religious animus about owning a particular kind of art from the Ottoman Empire? What if the Taliban, now the de facto government of Afghanistan, declared a worldwide intention to find Jews in possession of Pashto cultural property? What if China declared American intellectual property to be revolutionary patrimony?
Read More
Topics:
China,
Alexander Khochinsky,
Holocaust claims,
extradition,
FSIA,
"Girl with Dove",
Foreign Sovereign Immunities,
Poland,
Sullivan and Worcester LLP,
28 U.S.C. § 1605,
Operation Barbarossa,
Taliban,
Afghanistan,
Turkey,
Pashto
The Art Law Foundation in Geneva (Fondation pour le droit de l’art), together with the Banking Law Centre at the University of Geneva, hosted a sterling event on Monday in Geneva. This was the second part in a series spearheaded by the Foundation, the first day was held in London in November. While I was not able to attend the London event, it was very well received, and together with this week’s event it must be said that the organization is up to great things. Their events page (here) is something anyone interested should book mark. In particular, these events have showcased sophisticated insights into market-based aspects of art and law, which whether we like it or not is what is driving the discussion (and will continue to). A real hats off to the organizers, in particular Attorneys Sandrine Giroud of Lalive, and Pierre Gabus of Gabus Avocats, a director and president, respectively, of the Foundation.
Read More
Topics:
China,
Pierre Gabus,
Art Finance,
Sotheby’s Financial Services,
Fremdverwaltung,
leverage,
Xavier Oberson,
Alexandre Quiquerez,
Philip Hoffman,
Frédéric Dawance,
Art Business and Research Unit at Sotheby’s Instit,
authenticity,
Art Law Foundation,
Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act,
The Art Newspaper,
Geneva,
artgenève,
Fine Arts Expert Institute,
Manuela de Kerchove,
Sandrine Giroud,
Lalive,
Supervised Qualified Investors,
Natural Le Coultre,
Yan Walther,
feeder funds,
Jan Prasens,
Abel Avocats,
Farrer & Co LLP,
Lombard Odier,
Events,
Tutela Capital,
James Carleton,
Sotheby's,
U.C.C.,
Yves Bouvier,
Schroders,
Fabian Bocart,
Fine Art Fund Group,
Art Finance And Law Conference Series
