New legislation which took effect on Friday will allow national museums in England and Scotland to act to return works of art, based on the recommendations of the Spoliation Advisory Panel. The panel resolves claims arising from the loss of objects to the Nazis. There have been nine instances of wrongful takings in which claimants were compensated, yet the national institutions have been forbidden from returning objects outright. The only remedy was payment. This is a welcome change, and allows UK museums to do the just thing. Andrew Dismore, MP sponsored the act, and said:
It shows what could be achieved by a determined backbencher: by rolling out my sleeping bag and sleeping on the floor of the Public Bill Office overnight, I was able to become the first in the queue to apply for Second Readings after the balloted Bills, and this tactic paid off.
While I do not envisage the Act having to be used very frequently, this is an important moral step, to ensure that we can close yet a further chapter on the appalling crimes of the Holocaust.
- UK museums can return looted art, BBC, November 13, 2009.
