In the course of our work here, I like to call out books and articles that I feel are worthy of praise, usually the in the course of a particular post or issue. After a too-long stay on the corner of my desk awaiting time to read it, I finally finished a book published last… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Immunity from Seizure Act
Subscribe to Immunity from Seizure Act RSS FeedForeign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Passes House of Representatives Overwhelmingly
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Uncategorized, World War IIThe Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 4292) passed the House of Representatives yesterday, 388 to 4. Voting against were Reid Ribble (R, WI), Mark Sanford (R, SC), Marlin Stuzman (R, IN), and Justin Amash (R, MI). As discussed here previously, the bill would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §… Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Passes House Judiciary Committee on Voice Vote
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIJust a week after it was introduced by Steve Chabot (R-OH), the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 4292) was marked for hearing today. Three members spoke in favor, a voice vote was taken, and bill was referred favorably to the full House. Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) began the hearing with a statement. … Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Reintroduced in House of Representatives, Would Ban Use of Exhibition Loan as Basis for Federal Court Jurisdiction
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IISteve Chabot (R-OH) has reintroduced the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4292), after a previous attempt to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act with regard to the loan of cultural objects failed to become law in 2012. The text of the March 25, 2014 bill is identical to the version that passed… Continue Reading
U.S. Again Asks Court to Ignore Russian Defiance of Chabad Judgment, and for Advance Notice to Hinder Plaintiffs’ Exercise of their Rights
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, RestitutionIn response to the recent request by the Agudas Chasidei Chabad plaintiffs for an interim judgment on the compounding sanctions judgment for the Russian Federation’s refusal to comply with a 2010 judgment to return the ancestral library of the movement’s leader (Rebbe), the United States has filed a statement of position and asked the U.S…. Continue Reading
Revival of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act?
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure ActThe Holocaust Art Restitution Project reports today that a new version of Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act that would have amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to preclude claims against defendants whose “commercial activity” is limited to the loan of artwork whose ownership is in dispute, but which are… Continue Reading
Russia Sanctioned $50,000 per day for Defiance of Chabad Library Judgment that Led to Art and Cultural Loan Embargo
Posted in Cultural Property, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIIn a case that has tested the principles of how a defiant sovereign defendant can be compelled to comply with a court order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has taken an emphatic step in an order issued today. The Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, the Russian… Continue Reading
Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Unexpectedly Dies in Committee
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212Senate Bill 2212, previously passed by the House of Representatives, seemed to be gathering steam as 2012 came to a close. In November and December bipartisan sponsors were signing on, with no publicly-known opposition as it waited for a Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing. Yet the New Year has come and gone—and with it… Continue Reading
Combining the Nazi Theft Exception in Senate Bill 2212 with Immunity from Seizure: Good Policy or Inconsistent Law?
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IIOpposition to Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (a bill the Art Law Report favors in its frequent commentaries) has been renewed recently. Senate Bill 2212 (already passed by the House of Representatives) would remove the mere display of a work of art in the United States as a satisfactory… Continue Reading
Happy (early) Birthday to the Art Law Report!
Posted in Collections, Copyright, Cultural Property, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, RestitutionWe launched the Art Law Report one year ago tomorrow. Several dozen posts, thousands of visitors and many more views later, a very special thank you to everyone who has read and followed the blog. The connections made literally all around the world are humbling and enlightening. We continue to strive to provide an interesting… Continue Reading
Best Case for Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (S.B. 2212) May Have been Made by its Sponsors
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IIPerhaps lost in the coverage about Senate Bill 2212 (the Art Law Report no less than anyone else) to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to preclude claims against defendants whose “commercial activity” is limited to the loan of artwork whose ownership is in dispute, is the case made by the sponsors of the bill… Continue Reading
Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Amendment Coverage Continues to Miss the Mark: NPR Report Claims Bill Could “Thwart Return of Holocaust Art”
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIs it time to invoke the Corollary to Godwin’s Law of Nazi Analogies (i.e., as a discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler increases, and once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically the argument ) concerning Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional… Continue Reading
Court in Chabad Library Case Solicits Views of the United States on the Foreign Relations Impact of Holding Russia in Contempt
Posted in Collections, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIDespite some predictions (!) of a swift ruling on the Chabad plaintiffs’ motion for contempt for the Russian state library defendants’ refusal to comply with an order two years ago to return the library of Menachem Schneerson, the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC today solicited the views of the United States on the possibility of… Continue Reading
Despite Criticism of S.B. 2212’s Proposed Amendment to the FSIA, New Law Would Not Enable Stolen Art
Posted in Collections, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, World War IIDoreen Carvajal of the New York Times this week addressed Senate Bill 2212, (the “Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act”) this week, a bill approved in March by the House of Representatives. The article gives those most critical of the bill a chance to make their case. While well-intentioned, that criticism continues to miss… Continue Reading
Portrait of Wally in Hindsight: What did it Really Change?
Posted in Customs, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure ActA new piece at the Art Newspaper reflects on the importance of the Portrait of Wally case. Wally was seized in 1998 by customs officials on the theory that it was stolen property when imported into the U.S. The painting sat in a warehouse for 12 years, until a settlement returned the painting to Vienna in… Continue Reading
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