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New twist to Swiss saga over Aboutaam property
According to Le Temps, the Geneva Public Ministry has ordered the escrow to be lifted from nearly 5,000 antiques belonging to art dealer Ali Aboutaam. Almost all of the objects, suspected of illicit provenance, had been seized last year. A further 6,000 objects remain...
WCO report reveals the true picture about antiquities trafficking
For some time now, anti-trade campaigners, NGOs, politicians and even international law enforcement agencies have stated that trafficked antiquities are the third largest source of terrorist financing after trafficked drugs and weapons. These claims have always been...
Art businesses ill-prepared for GDPR, new EU data protection law
ADA adviser Ivan Macquisten has written a detailed analysis on the upcoming changes in data protection regulations for the EU for The Art Newspaper. This includes the Information Commissioner’s Office advice on what steps for businesses to take now. These changes will...
Latest Views
The Stargazer Judgment – Some key lessons
Lawyer Martin Wilson assesses the merits of Turkey’s court claim for the return of the Guennol Stargazer.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED OVER THE SEIZURE OF €11 MILLIon collection of Apulian artefacts?
When Eurojust announced that a Belgian collection of nearly 800 Apulian artefacts valued at €11 million had been seized and returned to Italy, it appeared to be a major victory for the Carabinieri and EU law enforcement.
However, dig deeper and all is not what it appears.
International conference on Prospects for Orphan Works
On February 4 and 5, the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, the University of Geneva and UNIDROIT hosted an international conference on the theme of Orphan Works.
The idea was to begin a free dialogue – unconstrained by the usual taboos – between the various protagonists involved in attempts to shape the future of the art market: collectors, gallery owners, lawyers, historians and archaeologists, curators, judiciary, customs and police. The objective is to find a reasonable long-term solution that balances the interests of preservation, conservation and bona fide property ownership.