The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 (c. 16) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to confer, on certain national institutions, a power that was already possessed by other museums to return to their rightful owners cultural objects unlawfully acquired during the Nazi era.[4] It was introduced into Parliament as the Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Bill.[5] The Bill was amended to give it a different name.
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to confer power to return certain cultural objects on grounds relating to events occurring during the Nazi era. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2009 c. 16 |
| Introduced by | Andrew Dismore[2] |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales and Scotland[3] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 12 November 2009 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Act 2019 |
Status: Amended | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
Sections 1 to 3
editThese sections came into force on 13 January 2010.[6]
Section 1 provides that the Act applies to:
- The Board of Trustees of the Armouries
- The British Library Board
- The Trustees of the British Museum
- The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum
- The Board of Trustees for the National Galleries of Scotland
- The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery
- The Trustees of the National Library of Scotland
- The Trustees of the National Maritime Museum
- The Board of Trustees of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
- The Board of Trustees of the National Museums of Scotland
- The Board of Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery
- The Trustees of the Natural History Museum
- The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
- The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery
- The Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum
- The Board of Trustees of the Wallace Collection
Section 2 authorises those bodies to transfer objects from their collections if the Advisory Panel has recommended that transfer and the Secretary of State has approved that recommendation. (The bodies in question were previously prohibited by statute from doing this).[7]
Section 3 defines the expression "Advisory Panel". The explanatory notes to the Act said that the Government intended to designate the Spoliation Advisory Panel as the Advisory Panel for the purpose of this Act.[8] That body, created in 2000 as a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, retained its designation under the 2009 Act after it was reconstituted in April 2010 as an expert group (under the same name).
Section 4 - Short title, extent, commencement and sunset
editThis section came into force on 12 November 2009.[9]
Section 4(1) authorises the citation of this Act by a short title.
Section 4(3) confers a power on the Secretary of State to appoint the day on which sections 1 to 3 of the Act come into force. This power was fully exercised by the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 (Commencement) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/50 (C.8)).
Section 4(7) was a sunset clause. It provided that the Act would have expired at the end of the period of ten years which began on the day it was passed. This clause was repealed under the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Act 2019.
Application of the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009
editSince the implementation of the Holocaust Act, the Advisory Panel has considered twenty-two claims for the restitution of artefacts and objects.[10] Despite the numerous Advisory Panel's recommendations, the act has only been successfully applied once.[11] This is because the Advisory Panel is a non-binding institution and museums do not have to follow their recommendations. The details of these claims can be seen in the following table :
| Institution | Claimant | Object of the request | Date | Advisory Panel's recommendation | Institution decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashmolean Museum | Jakob Goldschmidt's heirs | Painting | 2006 | Rejected | [12] | |
| Ashmolean Museum | Unknown | Renaissance Salt | 2014 | Approved | Rejected | [13] |
| Ashmolean Museum | Gerta Silberberg's estate | Gothic relief in ivory | 2016 | Rejected | [14] | |
| Bristol Museum and Art Gallery | Margraf & Co GmbH | Oil painting | 2015 | Rejected | [15] | |
| British Library | Unknown | Wooden tablet | 2014 | Approved | Rejected | [16] |
| British Library | Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral City of Benevento (Southern Italy) | Beneventan Missal (renewed claim) | 2010 | Approved | Rejected | [17] |
| British Library | Unknown | Beneventan Missal | 2005 | Approved | Rejected | [18] |
| British Museum | Unknown | 14 clocks and watches | 2012 | Rejected | [19] | |
| British Museum | Dr Arthur Feldmann's heirs | 4 drawings | 2006 | Rejected | [20] | |
| British Museum | Mrs Bertha L. Gutmann of Caldwell (Heinrich Rothberger's niece and heir) | Porcelain | 2008 | Approved | Rejected | [21] |
| Burrell Collection | Unknown | Tapestry Fragment | 2014 | Rejected | [22] | |
| Burrell Collection | Unknown | Painting | 2004 | Approved | Rejected | [23] |
| Cecil Higgins Art Gallery | Mrs Budge's estate | 4 Nymphenburg figures | 2014 | Approved | Rejected | [24] |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | Herbert Gutmann's descendants | Oil sketch | 2010 | Rejected | [25] | |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | Dr Curt Glaser's estate | 8 drawings | 2009 | Rejected | [26] | |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | Fraz W. Koenigs of the Netherlands' granddaughter | 3 paintings | 2007 | Rejected | [27] | |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | Dr Arthur Feldmann's heirs | 3 drawings | 2007 | Rejected | [28] | |
| Fitzwilliam Museum | Mrs Bertha L. Gutmann of Caldwell | Porcelain | 2008 | Rejected | [29] | |
| Tate Galleries | Victim's descendant (Unknown) | Griffiers' painting 'A View of Hampton Court Palace' | 2001 | Rejected | [30] | |
| Tate Galleries | Unknown | Constable painting | 2014 | Approved | Rejected | [31] |
| Tate Galleries | Baron Hatvany's estate | Oil painting by John Constable 'Beaching a Boat, Brighton' | 2015 | Approved | Rejected | [32] |
| Victoria and Albert Museum | Emma Budge's estate | 3 Meissen Figures | 2015 | Approved | Approved | [33] |
References
edit- ^ The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 4(1) of this Act.
- ^ "Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament".
- ^ The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009, section 4(2)
- ^ Explanatory notes, paragraph 6
- ^ Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (formerly known as Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution) Act 2009
- ^ The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 (Commencement) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/50 (C.8)), article 2 (as read with section 4(3) of this Act).
- ^ Explanatory notes, paragraph 4
- ^ Explanatory notes, paragraph 14
- ^ The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
- ^ "Reports of the Spoliation Advisory Panel". GOV.UK. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 3 Meissen Figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Painting in the Ashmolean Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Salt in the Ashmolean". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of a Gothic relief in ivory, now in the possession of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report by the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Oil painting in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Wooden tablet in the British Library". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Renewed claim for the Beneventan Missal in the British Library". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Beneventan Missal in the British Library". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 14 clocks and watches in the British Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Four drawings in the British Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Spoliation Advisory Panel report: Porcelain in the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Tapestry fragment in the Burrell Collection". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: A painting now in the possession of Glasgow City Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Porcelain figures in the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Oil sketch in the Courtauld Institute of Art". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 8 Drawings in the Courtauld Institute of Art". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Three paintings in the Courtauld Institute of Art". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Three drawings in the Courtauld Institute of Art". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Spoliation Advisory Panel report: Porcelain in the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Griffier painting in the Tate Gallery". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Constable painting in the Tate Gallery". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Supplementary Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of an oil Painting by John Constable 'Beaching a Boat, Brighton'". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 3 Meissen Figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
External links
edit- The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009, as amended from the National Archives.
- The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
- Explanatory notes to the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009.