10/12/2001

A new law has been approved by the German Parliament, in force as of the beginning of 2002, that will tighten the Law of Obligations. To date it has been up to the courts’ discretion whether to apply a thirty-year limit to claims on property, but this reform will make it compulsory, hindering the return of property stolen before 1972, including works of art confiscated by the Nazis during the Second World War. The bill, passed despite appeals on behalf of the New York-based Commission for Art Recovery, contravenes the Washington Conferences Principles of 1998, accepted by Germany at the time. The repercussions of the new law on the art market remain to be seen. (Luisa Vassallo)