Germany approves tribunal to decide Nazi-looted art claims

Germany’s government approved a reform to help the heirs of Jewish collectors recover Nazi-looted art, introducing a binding arbitration tribunal to adjudicate claims. The new body replaces an advisory panel, whose decisions could not be legally enforced.

The new system, the result of lengthy negotiations between Germany’s federal government and its 16 states, allows claimants to bring cases without the agreement of a disputed artwork’s current holder. Under the previous system, that consent was required before the advisory panel could consider a claim.

“We are making the restitution of Nazi-looted art easier, particularly by introducing unilateral access to arbitration,” Claudia Roth, Germany’s culture minister, said in a statement. “We are also creating more legal security and a more binding system.”

Roth added that the reform would enable Germany to better live up to its historical responsibilities and meet its commitment to “fair and just solutions” for Nazi-looted art claims under the Washington Principles. Endorsed by 44 countries in 1998, those nonbinding guidelines paved the way for five European countries to establish claims processes: Germany, Austria, Britain, France and the Netherlands.

The 26-year-old principles were reinforced last year by a new “best practices” agreement that specified claimants should have access to national adjudication panels even if the current holder of an artwork doesn’t consent.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, a nonprofit that secures compensation for Holocaust victims, welcomed the new tribunal. The federal and state governments consulted both organizations while drafting the reform.

“Throughout Europe, the Nazis robbed Jews of their cultural assets. This systematic theft of art was part of the Holocaust,” said Gideon Taylor, the president of the Jewish claims body, describing Germany’s decision to introduce binding arbitration as “a step forward in coming to terms with this part of its history.”

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