lucie

On Wednesday 13 February, PAIAM is hosting an event at The Photographers’ Gallery in which members are invited to the ‘Roman Vishniac Rediscovered’ exhibition. James Ratcliffe will discuss the benefits of mediation and its relevance to art disputes, especially those concerning Nazi-looted objects. For more details, please see here.

Nicola Wallace has been invited to be a Judge for the third year running at the 14th International Mediation Competition at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. The competition, which runs for 7 days, brings together global leaders in the field of mediation and 66 University teams and their coaches. More information can be found at https://iccwbo.org/dispute-resolution-services/professional-development/international-commercial-mediation-competition/

Proposed reforms to save more art for the nation – Petra Warrington (1 February 2019, Law Gazette) In the UK, cultural objects of a certain age and monetary value require a licence in order to be exported out of the country. An owner wishing to export a valuable work must obtain a licence from the Arts Council following a review process. When an application for an export licence is made in respect of an object deemed to be of outstanding national significance, the granting of the licence is deferred for a period of time to allow domestic institutions an opportunity to raise funds to acquire the object at fair market value, should the owner agree. Critics of the UK’s export licensing regime for objects of cultural interest sometimes lament that the system lacks teeth. As a result, each year the opportunity to retain significant works of art and precious objects for […]

Petra Warrington and Gregor Kleinknecht Court proceedings can be very expensive, consume much valuable time, generate harmful publicity, destroy goodwill and relationships between the parties and, in the end, satisfy none of the parties. There is often a clear incentive and, in many cases, an obligation on the parties to a dispute to consider and actively engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), primarily by way of mediation. There are added advantages for the parties in using ADR in art and cultural heritage disputes, where publicity can “burn” a work’s marketability. Case law consistently points to the judiciary’s encouragement of ADR. This is reflected in court guidance and case management, which includes asking the parties whether they have considered ADR at various stages of the litigation process. The court has discretion to order a stay of proceedings to encourage the parties to explore settlement through mediation and other forms of ADR […]

When most people think of treasure they conjure up images of pirate loot or an Aladdin’s cave brimming with gold and precious stones. This may be true in legend, but treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as defined by the Treasure Act 1996, refers to objects that contain at least 10% gold or silver and are at least 300 years old when found. In the case of coins, the treasure classification includes all coins from the same find provided that they are at least 300 years old when found. (If the coins contain less than 10% gold or silver then they must be at least 10 of them, to be so classified). In 2003 the Treasure Act was extended to include metal prehistoric finds with a low precious metal content, such as bronze axe heads and weapons, and any group of two or more metal objects of any composition […]