As a law student studying the Art and Cultural Heritage Law module at Kent, Eva Deligiannidis enjoyed an exciting opportunity to network with leading legal experts in the art and antiquities markets in London this month.
Eva, a final year English and French Law student, was invited to attend a one-day seminar exploring criminal and compliance risk with module convenor Dr Sophie Vigneron, one of the invited speakers for the event. Dr Vigneron is a member of the Institute of Art and Law, and the Société internationale pour la recherche sur le droit du patrimoine culturel. She has a particular interest in the regulation of the art market and cultural heritage law. Her research on cultural heritage law covers both the regulation and protection of cultural objects and the built heritage by national laws (French, English and the USA) and international conventions.
The seminar was hosted at the offices of international law firm K&L Gates located next to St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of the city. It was organised by Senior Associate Sean Kelsey as part of a broader conference on Risk Management in the Art and Antiquities Markets. K&L Gates has a large team of lawyers with expertise in the world of fine art, including representing auction houses, art dealers, personal collectors, copyright owners, charitable organizations, museums, libraries and art galleries. Their lawyers advise clients in all aspects of art law, from dispute resolution to contract drafting, as well as transactional and strategic advice. Famous art law cases the firm has handled include the German Beltracchi art forgery scandal and the Munich art trove of the Gurlitt collection.
After a networking breakfast in the company of auction house representatives, art dealers, lobbyists and lawyers, the first panel discussion began with a talk by Dr Vigneron on soft and hard law in the art market and on the impact of codes of conduct on codes of ethics for museums and auction house.
Eva said: ‘This was followed by Professor Ulph’s (Leicester University) commentary on provenance, due diligence and criminal law matters in art law. Finally, the panel ended with the proposal by an art market advisor (Ivan Macquisten) of a way forward to the different problems arising in the art world, namely the lack of regulation of a market constituting an attractive form of investment and a background of developing social and political instability. Ethics, transparency and self-regulation, he argued, are the key for a difference to be made.
‘The second panel triggered an interesting discussion on issues surrounding the efficient functioning of databases for stolen art. Speakers included the COO of a new charity fighting art theft (Ariane Moser, ARTIVE) and the Director of Recoveries and General Counsel at the well-established Art Loss Register (James Ratcliffe), thereby showing two interesting, albeit sometimes conflicting, views on the topic. Finally, the last panel (Dylan Moses, K&L Gates, Dan Dehner and James Dodsworth, Ernst & Young) offered, through helpful illustrative scenarios, a legal approach to how money laundering occurs in the art market.
‘The day felt as though all these important actors in the art world materialised from my weekly lectures at Kent into a body of people who, besides not always agreeing with each other, all share a common passion by working around an instrument plenty of history, traditions, values, aspirations and ideas, namely, art. Being in a niche environment such as this one for the first time was a great chance for me not only to learn more about this interesting field but also to network with friendly and interesting professionals.’
(Watch Dr Vigneron talking about cultural heritage law in her TED style ‘Think Kent’ lecture on YouTube.)