Thursday, December 10, 2009

New Journal of Art Crime Column

The new issue of ARCA's Journal of Art Crime is out. My column this time is on the Ninth Circuit's decision in Von Saher v. The Norton Simon Museum. An excerpt:

"The implication of the decision seems to be that, if California had extended its statute of limitations for all stolen property claims (or for all claims of stolen artwork in particular), then the claim would have survived. California can host any number of Nazi-looted art cases if it wishes - even if the point is to 'rectify wartime wrongs' and even if they require courts to review restitution decisions made by other countries. But what it cannot do is extend the statute of limitations for those claims. It's a strange result."