Law, crime and regulation

Max Rutherston is right to take exception (ATG No 2533) to the letter from Pete Matthews (ATG No 2532), who saucily tells the trade to stop moaning about the Ivory Act.

A number of UK auction houses have stopped taking bids from buyers in Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

French auction reform took another step forward last month with the creation of a new regulatory body to oversee sales in France.

The digital registration service for exempted items containing ivory is now live and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is urging those wishing to sell items that qualify for one of these narrow exemptions to familiarise themselves with the new system.

I must take exception to the letter from Pete Matthews (ATG No 2532) in which he tells the trade to stop moaning about the Ivory Act.

The Antiques Rescue Centre (ARC), an initiative started by Michael Baggott, has attracted support from a number of auction houses and members of the trade.

The latest Covid restrictions to be eased make a buying trip across the Channel more realistic

Regarding your article in ATG No 2531, ‘Four months’ before ivory ban becomes law’, I fail to see why the trade is ‘frustrated’ and describe the process as chaotic.

The ATG understands the trade will have until June before the terms of the Ivory Act 2018 come into force.

The near-total ban on the trade in antique ivory in the UK promised three years ago is just a matter of weeks away from enforcement.

As reported on the front page of this week’s ATG, it appears the Ivory Act will, after much delay, soon be brought into force. This does not mean the fight for antiques is over; it means it has just begun.

A group of Sotheby’s former employees are considering further action against the auction house’s plan to close its ‘defined benefit’ pension plan.