Choice of Law and the Art World: Law, Norms, and Institutions

Choice of Law and the Art World: Law, Norms, and Institutions

Billions of dollars of art are stolen or looted every year, yet governments often consider art theft a luxury problem. With limited public law enforcement, what prevents thieves, looters and organised criminal gangs from flooding the market with stolen art? How can theft victims get justice - even decades after their loss? What happens when the legal definition of a good legal title varies across jurisdictions and is at odds with what is morally right? Enter the Art Loss Register, a private database dedicated to tracking down stolen artworks. Blocking the sale of disputed artworks creates a space for private resolutions - often amicable and sometimes entertainingly adversarial. My research examines how restitutions are negotiated and how valuable artworks are retrieved from the economic underworld. A fascinating journey into the dark side of the global art market.

Anja Shortland,…