Law, crime and regulation

As a dealer with a number of antique ivory works of art for sale, I am now having to involve myself in conforming to the new legislation.

The Ivory Act, a near-total ban on the sale of antique ivory, comes into force in the UK on June 6.

Portrait miniature on ivory are among the exemptions provided in the new Ivory Act [coming into force on June 6 – see front page of this issue].

Focus on how judges assess when art and antiques cases need special evidence

Auction houses will no longer be legally required to publicise guarantees on artworks sold in New York City when a repeal of business regulations goes ahead next month.

The Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property (also known as the ‘Nicosia’ Convention) entered into force on April 1.

Your report that the UK’s share of the global art market has declined blames VAT and Brexit for this (ATG No 2537), but fails to mention the effect of Artist's Resale Right which is probably the real reason for the current decline.

The book trade has called for institutions to be more proactive in reporting missing items after two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin were mysteriously returned to Cambridge University Library.

I’d like to lend my support to Ivor Braka in his brave and principled decision to fight the parasitic bureaucracies of the ARR (front page, ATG No 2536).

Decisions on act exemptions inevitably run the risk of subjective assessments