protection of exhibits on loan from abroad for public exhibitions

Part 6 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (“the Act”) provides protection for objects on loan from abroad in temporary public exhibitions in museums and galleries in the UK where certain conditions are satisfied. The legislation was introduced in response to concerns from museums that an increasing number of international lenders were refusing to lend items to UK museums without a guarantee of their safe return.

Where the conditions for protection are met, a court cannot make an order to seize an object that has been loaned from abroad for an exhibition, except where the court is required to make that order under EU law or the UK’s international obligations.

Under section 134 of the Act, an object is only protected from seizure if all the conditions set out in section 134(2) of the Act are met when the object enters the UK. See the checklist for the full details of requirements PDF (61kb). In summary the conditions are:

the object is usually kept outside the UK;
it is not owned by a person resident in the UK;
its import does not contravene a prohibition or restriction on import;
it is brought into the UK for temporary public display by a museum or gallery that is approved under section 136;
the museum or gallery has complied with any requirements about the publication of information specified in Regulations.

The authority that is responsible for approving a museum or gallery will depend on where the institution is located. The authority is:

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for an institution located in England;
Welsh Ministers for an institution located in Wales
Scottish Ministers for an institution located in Scotland; andThe Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure for an institution located in Northern Ireland.

To obtain approval, a museum or gallery must demonstrate that its procedures for undertaking due diligence are robust, comply with international standards and specifically with Combating Illicit Trade: Due diligence guidelines for museums, libraries and archives on collecting and borrowing cultural material, issued by DCMS in 2005. Each authority will be assisted in assessing applications for approval by independent experts.

Once a museum has been approved for the purposes of the legislation it will not have to apply in relation to each exhibition or article which it wishes to be protected. However, the borrowing institution must ensure that the other conditions for protection are satisfied.

Under Section 136(3) of the Act, the authority may withdraw approval from an institution if it appears that its procedures for establishing the provenance or ownership of objects are inadequate, or because it has failed to comply with a requirement of the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan (Publication and Provision of Information) Regulations 2008 on the publication of information about the objects to be borrowed.

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Publication requirements and information for those who think they may have a claim to a loaned object

The Government is committed to doing all it can to set to rights the terrible injustices suffered by the people of Europe during the Nazi era and in 2000 the Government established the Spoliation Advisory Panel to provide advice to claimants and museums on the resolution of claims for works of art held in permanent collections in museums in the UK. The Government is similarly determined that looted or stolen works of art do not find their way into the UK via international loans. Objects will only be protected if the borrowing museum has complied with the requirements set out in the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan (Publication and provision of Information) Regulations 2008 (“the Regulations”)

These Regulations require the borrowing institution to publish detailed information about the object at least four weeks before the day on which the object enters the UK. The information must be made available to the public free of charge on the borrowing institution’s website. This will enable anyone who may have an interest in any of those objects to raise questions about them before they come to the UK. After the object has arrived in the UK, the borrowing institution must also make the information available free of charge on their website for an additional period which begins on the day after the four week period ends and lasts for at least twelve weeks or for the duration of the exhibition, whichever is the longer period.

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council provides a link on its website to museum websites which have published information about protected objects. This provides a single point of access for those who may wish to research the information.

The Regulations also enable a person who thinks they may have a claim to an object to obtain more information from the borrowing institution.

A person who thinks they may have a claim to an object should make a written request to the relevant institution setting out:

their name and address;
where the person claims as the heir of another person, the name and last known address of that person, or where that is not possible, sufficient details to identify that person;
a short summary of their claim to the object; and
confirmation that the borrowing institution may inform the lender of their request.

The borrowing institution must provide the claimant with the information set out in the Regulations unless:

the claim has already been rejected by a court or other authority responsible for adjudicating on such claims;
all the information that the borrowing institution would be required to provide is already available to members of the public free of charge; or
the request is made more than twelve weeks after the end of the additional period during which the borrowing institution must publish information about an object after it enters the UK. (This period which begins on the day after the four week period, ends and lasts for at least twelve weeks or for the duration of the exhibition, whichever is the longer period.)

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The information that the borrowing institution must provide is:

the name of each lender if it is not already published on the website;
• a link to the website where the borrowing institution has published the information required by the regulations;
• a written summary of the borrowing institution's enquiries into the provenance, ownership and history of the object;
• any other information held by the borrowing institution as a result of its enquires into the provenance of the object that may lawfully be disclosed.

How to apply for approval under Section 136

Museums and galleries in England wishing to apply for approval under Section 136 of the Act should complete the questionnaire and return it to DCMS at least six weeks before an object requiring protection under the Act enters the UK. Please return you questionnaires by email and hard copy to:

Nicki Fox
Cultural Property Unit
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2 - 4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
Email: nicki.fox@culture.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 00 44 (0)207 211 6129

The note on the approval of museums and galleries under section 136 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 PDF (31kb) and the accompanying Q&A PDF (52kb) will give you more information about the application process.

Museums and galleries in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should contact the appropriate approving authorities there. For further details of these, contact Nicki Fox, above.

Approved Museums
The following museums have been approved by the Minister under section 136 of the Act:-

The Royal Academy – From Russia exhibition only

Tate

The British Museum