Wartime Art Repatriation Symposium at Case

On Friday, March 1, 2013 the Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet at Case Western will host a symposium on "Wartime Art Repatriation."  Cribbing now from Case Western's announcement:

Art theft during wartime has existed since ancient times.  As modern society presses onward, victimized countries are beginning to demand the return of pieces stolen from them at times of war.  However, museums throughout the world have integrated these piecs of art into their collections, often as the cornerstone of an exhibit or collection that draws thousands of visitors every year.  Can museums be required to return such artowrk, when they acquired the pieces through legal means?  What role does law play in wartime art repatriation?

This is, I think, further evidence of a resurgence in academic interest in reparations.

Comments

[Patrick S. O'Donnell]

Al, I do think there is a resurgence of sorts of academic interest in reparations, but repatriation is something different, is it not? There are some similarities in the two processes but returning works of art to their country of origin strikes me as different from reparation to individuals, say, as a result of slavery, or state reparations in situations of transtional justice. In at least some of the former cases, there was no clear crime (as noted in your post), and returning something to its rightful owner seems different to me than compensating somebody for a harm "or measures taken by the state to redress gross and systematic violations of human rights law or humanitarian law."

[Jen Kreder]

Al, where could I get more info? Thanks.

[Alfred Brophy]

Hi Jen -- probably the best idea is to contact the journal. This is everything I know about the symposium; I received the notice from CWRU in the mail yesterday.

[Jen Kreder]

Thanks!