Is reclaiming a piece of art stolen by the Nazis about to get easier? It might be in Germany, if a law just introduced there is passed by the Bundesrat and then the Bundestag — it would amend the statute of limitations, barring its use when the property in question was not obtained by the current owner in good faith.
I am no expert in German law, but the excellent Art Law Report has written about the twice this week. In the most recent post on the topic, it says — about the Gurlitt case, which is on everyone’s mind:
…that would have considerable importance to any claims against Gurlitt himself or Bavaria as the current custodian of the paintings. It would still require a showing by claimants that Gurlitt took the paintings from his father in bad faith, but would presumably eliminate a defense potentially available to Gurlitt that even in bad faith, sufficient time had run to bar claims.
…Beyond Gurlitt, the implications would be even broader, since the law would apply to any claim to property anywhere in Germany. As the Gurlitt case has shown, one simply never knows when a new discovery will be revealed.
Apparently, the German legislature is planning to take up this bill on Feb. 14. Â How long it would take to be considered is unclear.
More on the Gurlitt case — a trove of some 1,400 works including some by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Renoir and the Franz Marc drawing I’ve posted –Â is here, in Der Spiegel. In November, The New York Times printed a list of some of them.