The Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University is proud to have hosted an international conference, entitled “Due Diligence, Digital Databases, and Cultural Property Law & Policy,” which was held on March 27-29, 2022. The conference was organized by Prof. Amnon Lehavi, former Dean of the Harry Radzyner Law School.
The conference, held in physical format as part of the Atara Kaufman Conferences on Law, Art, and Cultural Heritage, was co-sponsored by the Law Schools Global League (LSGL), UNIDROIT - the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, Gandur Foundation for Art in Geneva, Office of the State of North Rhein - Westphalia in Israel, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, ICOM Israel, and other partners.
The conference 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 the Museum of Islamic Art.
In the photo, from left to right:
Adv. Corinne Hershkovitch, Cabinet Corinne Hershkovitch, Paris, Prof. Marc-Andre Renold, UNESCO Chair and Director of the Art-Law Center Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, Prof. Matthias Weller, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Professor for Civil Law, Art and Cultural Property, Faculty of Law, University of Bonn, Mariana Schneider, Principal Legal Officer & Treaty Depositary UNIDROIT, Rome.
