'Fair and Just Solutions? Alternatives to litigation in Nazi looted art disputes, status quo and new developments'

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The Restitutions Committee

The Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War (in brief referred to as: the Restitutions Committee) advises on claims to looted art. Works of art which former owners lost possession of because of theft, confiscation or (enforced) sale during the Nazi regime may now be owned by the State of the Netherlands (National Art Collection), a provincial/local government institution, a foundation or a private individual. Since early 2002, a claim to a stolen work of art can be submitted to the Restitutions Committee for investigation and advice as an alternative way of settling a dispute. The Restitutions Committee operates independently from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), and comprises lawyers, a historian and an art historian.

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News & publications

Opinions regarding claims to paintings in four Dutch museums

8 May 2013

THE HAGUE – The Restitutions Committee has published four binding expert opinions regarding claims to paintings in Dutch museums. The works in question are Dune Landscape with Deer Hunt by Gerrit Claesz Bleker in the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, Madonna and Child with Wild Roses by Jan van Scorel in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well by Bernardo Strozzi in Museum de Fundatie in Heino/Wijhe and River View with Mooring by Maerten Fransz van der Hulst in the Groninger Museum’s collection. The last of these paintings must be returned to the grandchildren of the heir of the former owner, Richard Semmel. The other three paintings do not have to be returned.

Application for restitution of 188 paintings from Katz claim rejected

24 January 2013

The Dutch Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War has advised Minister Jet Bussemaker of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to almost entirely reject a claim for restitution of 189 works of art from the Dutch National Art Collection. After conducting an investigation, the Restitutions Committee concludes that the conditions for restitution have not been met. One exception is the painting Man with a high cap by Ferdinand Bol, regarding which the Committee recommends restitution.

Positive decision on claimed Jan Steen to heirs of Mautner

24 January 2013

The Hague, 24 January 2013 - The Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War has advised Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education, Culture and Science to return a painting by Jan Steen, which is currently in the Dutch National Collection, to the former owner’s heirs. The Minister has adopted this recommendation.

Restitution of Van Brekelenkam painting from the National Art Collection

24 January 2013

The Hague, 24 January 2013 - The Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War has advised Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education, Culture and Science to return a painting that the Jewish banker Adolf Arnhold sold when fleeing from the Nazis. The Minister has adopted this recommendation.

Rijksmuseum to retain Riemenschneider sculptures

17 January 2013

THE HAGUE, 17 January 2013 - The Restitutions Committee has advised the Minister for Education, Culture and Science to reject a claim to two Tilman Riemenschneider sculptures. The Minister has adopted this recommendation.

Meeting of Five European Committees / Symposium in the Peace Palace in The Hague (26/27 November 2012)

30 November 2012

THE HAGUE – Last week the Dutch Restitutions Committee organised two days in the Peace Palace in The Hague. The first day, five European art restitution committees agreed to develop further plans for a permanent working group. The second day aspects of international cooperation in dispute resolution in the field were discussed during the symposium ‘Fair and just solutions?’, which brought together more than 200 experts from all over the world.

Symposium on international collaboration in claims for Nazi-looted art

13 November 2012

THE HAGUE – To mark its tenth anniversary, the Dutch Restitutions Committee is staging an international symposium about claims for Nazi-confiscated art in the Peace Palace in The Hague on 27 November. The symposium will be opened by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, and experts from the Netherlands and abroad will focus attention on the question of how to arrive at fair and just solutions in claims to looted art.

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