Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 explained

Short Title:	Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009^[1]
Type:	Act
Parliament:	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:	An Act to confer power to return certain cultural objects on grounds relating to events occurring during the Nazi era.
Year:	2009
Statute Book Chapter:	2009 c. 16
Introduced By:	Andrew Dismore^[2]
Territorial Extent:	England and Wales and Scotland^[3]
Royal Assent:	12 November 2009
Amendments:	Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Act 2019
Status:	Amended
Original Text:	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/16/contents/enacted
Legislation History:	http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/holocaustreturnofculturalobjectsformerlyknownasholocauststolenartrestitution.html
Revised Text:	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/16/contents

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.

Sections 1 to 3

These 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

This 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

Since 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

• Halsbury's Statutes,

External links

• 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.

Notes and References

1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 4(1) of this Act.
2. Web site: Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
3. The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009, section 4(2)
4. Explanatory notes, paragraph 6
5. https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/holocaustreturnofculturalobjectsformerlyknownasholocauststolenartrestitution.html Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (formerly known as Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution) Act 2009
6. 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).
7. Explanatory notes, paragraph 4
8. Explanatory notes, paragraph 14
9. The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
10. Web site: Reports of the Spoliation Advisory Panel. 2021-04-05. GOV.UK. 10 February 2016 . en.
11. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 3 Meissen Figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 2021-04-05. GOV.UK. en.
12. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Painting in the Ashmolean Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
13. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Salt in the Ashmolean. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
14. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of a Gothic relief in ivory, now in the possession of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
15. Web site: Report by the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Oil painting in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
16. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Wooden tablet in the British Library. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
17. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Renewed claim for the Beneventan Missal in the British Library. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
18. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Beneventan Missal in the British Library. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
19. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 14 clocks and watches in the British Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
20. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Four drawings in the British Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
21. Web site: Spoliation Advisory Panel report: Porcelain in the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
22. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Tapestry fragment in the Burrell Collection. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
23. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: A painting now in the possession of Glasgow City Council. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
24. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Porcelain figures in the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
25. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Oil sketch in the Courtauld Institute of Art. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
26. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 8 Drawings in the Courtauld Institute of Art. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
27. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Three paintings in the Courtauld Institute of Art. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
28. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Three drawings in the Courtauld Institute of Art. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
29. Web site: Spoliation Advisory Panel report: Porcelain in the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
30. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Griffier painting in the Tate Gallery. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
31. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: Constable painting in the Tate Gallery. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
32. Web site: Supplementary Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of an oil Painting by John Constable 'Beaching a Boat, Brighton'. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.
33. Web site: Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel: 3 Meissen Figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 2021-04-22. GOV.UK. en.