Fulfilling the Washington Principles: A Proposal for Arbitration Panels to Resolve Holocaust-Era Art Claims

Authors

Jessica Mullery, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

This Note highlights increased efforts to foster the restitution of Nazi-looted art, particularly on the U.S. front, during the 1990s, with emphasis on the Washington Conference in 1998. It is then contended that the Washington Principles have ultimately failed to result in the adoption of ADR mechanisms to deal with continuing Holocaust-era art claims in both the United States and abroad. The lack of both United States and international efforts subsequent to the Washington Conference, especially in failing to establish ADR mechanisms, is stressed in order to demonstrate the inadequacy of the Washington Principles. Ongoing cases and emerging litigation within the United States are identified in order to demonstrate the various costs associated with litigating Nazi-looted art claims. The arduous process and expenses associated with litigation of these claims are then contrasted with the processes and consequences of different ADR mechanisms, and arbitration is proposed as the preferable mechanism to resolve these claims. Lastly, a U.S.-based arbitration panel with limited jurisdiction is proposed as an initial step to foster the alternative dispute resolution of Nazi-looted art claims.

Disciplines

Comparative and Foreign Law | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | International Law | Law | Legal Remedies

Recommended Citation

Jessica Mullery, Fulfilling the Washington Principles: A Proposal for Arbitration Panels to Resolve Holocaust-Era Art Claims, 11 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 643 (2010).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol11/iss2/12