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Disadvantages Of Court Litigation

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Restitution of cultural property has always been primarily an affair of the State, with each State actor claiming sovereignty or ownership over significant cultural property. Traditionally, it is from this angle that this issue is addressed, as matter of straightforward law. In order to resolve such disputes, court litigation may be an appropriate option, particularly when the parties are uncooperative, or a precedent is required. However, increasingly, circumstances arise where in light of the complexity of the subject matter, the emergence of new actors in restitution claims, specific limitation periods and the non-retroactive nature of international instruments, court litigation can no longer always provide for the most efficient and effective dispute resolution medium. Instead, …show more content…

The art world is a unique environment that places much reliance on confidentiality and close personal relationships, and therefore ethics, grey letter law, and soft codes play a very important role. As a result, the process of ADR is better suited for the art world and cultural property disputes compared to litigation, because it is primarily focused on the concepts of voluntariness and party autonomy. ADR is generally cheaper and quicker than litigation. This view was expressed for example in the English case of Tavoulareas v Lau, which demonstrates the disadvantages of litigation in the field of cultural property. The judge stated in that case:

“The first extraordinary aspect of this bitterly-fought litigation is that the claimant has spent some £60,000 on it to date, the defendants £25,000; £85,000 in all, over a claim worth at most £23,500. Now, litigation must be fun if the parties are prepared to spend that much on a rollercoaster ride to judgment without pausing, either of them, to suggest that mediation would be a more sensible way to resolve their

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