Law, crime and regulation

FRANCE: Three French museums have become embroiled in legal controversy after harbouring works of art looted from their original owners during the Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War.

US: A LONG-running legal dispute has been sorted out in the United States. Unusually for such a contest I understand that everybody is happy.

FRANCE: A Paris court has refused the request of Christie’s owner François Pinault to revoke the sale of a statue of Pharaoh Sesostris III on the grounds that it was not authentic.

US: THE THREE year investigation into the price-fixing conspiracy between Sotheby’s and Christie’s entered its closing stages at a federal court in Manhattan last week as a federal judge formally accepted the criminal guilt of both auctioneers and no legal objections were raised to the terms of the $512m settlement in the civil lawsuit.

Commission fixing charges may be brought against Christie’s and Sotheby’s in Britain following the dismissal of three lawsuits in America that sought compensation for purchases in London since 1992.

A LAWSUIT that threatened to deal a fatal blow to the heart of EBay’s trading status has been dismissed by a Californian court

UK: ARTS Minister Alan Howarth has announced that the Government will pay £125,000 compensation to a family forced to sell a painting as they fled the Nazis.

HOPES of clarifying ownership rights over items sold at auction on the Internet have suffered a setback with the settling out of court of a potentially precedent-setting case.

YAHOO have decided to ban sales of Nazi memorabilia and other items promoting racism from their Website from January 10.

UK: THE Export Review Committee, which assesses whether outstanding works of art should be allowed to leave the country, has helped six such pieces stay in Britain in the past year.

UK: Major new initiatives, including the introduction of a new criminal offence, are expected to come into force in the next few years to tackle illicit trade in cultural property.

FRANCE: THREE French museums have become embroiled in legal controversy after harbouring works of art looted from their original owners during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II.

FRANCE: Following a two-year investigation, French police have rounded up a gypsy gang responsible for hundreds of thefts from châteaux and private homes, many in Normandy and the Paris area.

The British Hallmarking Council has ruled that the old Dealer’s Notice for those selling gold, silver or platinum, will cease to be valid from March 31 next year.

THE British Art Market Federation has expressed disappointment as the European Parliament is seeking to reverse special provisions for the UK concerning droit de suite, the artists’ resale levy.

Auction houses want disclaimer clause included before payment. Buyers and sellers given a January 5 compensation claim deadline as part of the class action in the Sotheby’s/Christie’s collusion case face a dilemma.

A HOUSE of Lords ruling in a copyright case tightening the rules on what constitutes an infringement could have a significant impact on the Contemporary art scene.

SEVENTY-FIVE leading contemporary artists have lent their names to a poster campaign against droit de suite, claiming that the currrent EU directive on artists’ resale right deprives them of their right to freedom of choice.

THE parliamentary committee assessing the merits of the Kent Bill have called on the Government to introduce public legislation to cover the whole country instead.

DEALERS in the Dover area have contacted the Antiques Trade Gazette to complain about a local police initiative asking them to fingerprint their customers.