LSGL Co-Sponsors Conference on Cultural Property Law Held at Reichman University, Israel

LSGL is proud to have co-sponsored an international conference, entitled “Due Diligence, Digital Databases, and Cultural Property Law & Policy,” which was held at Reichman University (IDC Herzliya) in Israel on March 27-29, 2022. The conference was organized by Prof. Amnon Lehavi, former Co-President of LSGL.

The conference, held in physical format, brought together leading experts from across the globe to discuss the various ways in which the key concept of “due diligence” and its role in provenance research and trade in cultural property are impacted by significant advances in digital technology, and particularly by the rapid growth of globally accessible digital databases, and how these recent developments translate into law and policy measures advanced by professional, legal, governmental, and intergovernmental organizations. Alongside a broad and interdisciplinary discussion of the current impact of due diligence in the digital age on cultural institutions and the global art market, including in cases of Nazi-looted art and “colonial contexts,” particular attention was paid to the topic of “orphan works” (cultural property without provenance). In addition to the academic sessions that took place at Reichman University, a public event was held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on the evening of March 28, entitled: “What Museums and Collectors Should Know about Provenance and Due Diligence: An International Perspective.” In addition, the participants held a study tour to the city of Jerusalem on March 29 – including a visit to the Old City, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and to the Museum of Islamic Art. 

LSGL offered stipends that facilitated the participation of two early-career researchers from LSGL member schools. Mr. Shou Yu Chong, PhD Candidate at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, presented his research, entitled: “The Suitability of Mediation to Resolve Disputes over Cultural Property.” Mr. Diogo Machado, PhD Candidate at the UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice, presented his work, entitled: “Due diligence in Anti-Money Laundering Transnational Regulation of Cultural Property.”