Art treasures and war: a study on the restitution of looted cultural property persuant to public international law

The objective of the first chapter of this book is to define the meaning of the term 'restitution' in international law in contrast with the other terms used in this area. It then considers the opinions of various lawyers and academics, and the development of rules of international law relating to the return of cultural goods, alongside a study of the development of the practice of restitution. In the light of this general discussion, specific issues receive more detailed treatment, in particular the regulations of Allied Restitution Law, which came into force in various forms and situations after the Second World War. The book concludes with a summary of the historical evolution of the legal model of restitution.

The Appendix contains a wealth of material, including the Regulation concerning confiscation of works of art in German-occupied Poland; the Inter-Allied Declaration against Acts of Dispossession; the Final Act and Annex of the Paris Conference on Reparations; Law No. 52: Blocking and Control of Property, British Zone; General Order No. 6: Declaration of Looted Property in British Zone; Law No. 59: Restitution of Identifiable Property (US Zone); Military Government Regulations, Title 18: Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives, US Zone.