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U.S. Asks Court Not to Sanction Russian Defendants in Chabad Library Case—What Now?

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 5, 2012 at 1:14 PM

Casting further doubt on the practical possibility of using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to recover cultural artifacts, the U.S. Government has at long last weighed in on the Chabad plaintiffs’ request for contempt sanctions against the Russian defendants, defendants who have defied for more than two years a judgment to return the library of the late Menachem Schneerson. Rightly or wrongly, this is another example of the waning utility of the FSIA to seek restitution of works held abroad, and does not bode well for the ongoing embargo by Russian museums against cultural artifact loans to the United States.

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Topics: Russian art embargo, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Menachem Scnheerson, FSIA, Restitution, World War II, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Chabad, Art Law Report

Court in Chabad Library Case Solicits Views of the United States on the Foreign Relations Impact of Holding Russia in Contempt

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on May 24, 2012 at 10:44 AM

Despite some predictions (!) of a swift ruling on the Chabad plaintiffs' motion for contempt for the Russian state library defendants' refusal to comply with an order two years ago to return the library of Menachem Schneerson, the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC today solicited the views of the United States on the possibility of holding the Russian defendants in contempt for their non-compliance with the orders of the Court and their general disregard of the legal proceedings. Russian state museums have refused for more than a year to lend cultural objects into the U.S. because of the ruling, despite multiple and unassailable levels of assurances that loans of objects other than the Schneerson library are safe from any seizure related to the Chabad case.

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Topics: Russian art embargo, Schneerson, Collections, FSIA, Restitution, World War II, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Chabad

Despite Criticism of S.B. 2212’s Proposed Amendment to the FSIA, New Law Would Not Enable Stolen Art

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on May 24, 2012 at 6:04 AM

Doreen Carvajal of the New York Times this week addressed Senate Bill 2212, (the “Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act”) this week, a bill approved in March by the House of Representatives.

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Topics: Legislation, Russian art embargo, Nazi stolen art, Russia, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 22 U.S.C. § 2459, Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue, Collections, FSIA, SB 2212, Restitution, World War II, IFSA, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Portrait of Wally, Doreen Carvajal, Immunity from Seizure Act, New York Times, Chabad, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity

Commentary Takes Shape on S.B. 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on April 11, 2012 at 12:47 PM

It’s been a few weeks since the House passed the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4086) and sent it on to the Senate for consideration as S.B. 2212. It has bipartisan sponsorship there (Dianne Feinstein and Orrin Hatch), but no word yet on when it will be put to a vote.

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Topics: Girolamo Romano, Dianne Feinstein, Nazi-looted art, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1603, 22 U.S.C. § 2459, Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue, Hermann Goring, Collections, FSIA, Restitution, 19 U.S.C. § 1595a, Schneerson library, Orrin Hatch, Senate Bill 2212, World War II, IFSA, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Portrait of Wally, Immunity from Seizure Act, Customs, Chabad, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity

Russian Art Embargo News: Chabad Negotiations Over Russian Library Fail, Renewed Request for Contempt Sought

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on March 7, 2012 at 4:38 AM

After months of inactivity and intimations of a possible settlement, the Chabad plaintiffs seeking the return of the Schneerson library have had enough, and have renewed their request to the District Court to sanction the defendants who have not complied with prior orders to return the library.

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Topics: Alexander Avdeyev, Russian art embargo, sanctions, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Acts, Menachem Scnheerson, Collections, FSIA, Restitution, World War II, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, contempt, Chabad

More Hope for a Resolution to the Russian Art Embargo?

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on December 22, 2011 at 10:14 AM

For the second time since October, the Chabad Lubavitch plaintiffs seeking the return of the movement’s library from Russia have asked the D.C. District Court to hold off on issuing any of the sanctions those plaintiffs requested earlier. More specifically this time, the plaintiffs reference ongoing discussions and ask for more time to try to bring those to fruition.

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Topics: Russia, Restitution, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Chabad

Russian Ship Turns Away from San Francisco as Part of Chabad Russian Art Embargo Dispute

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on October 31, 2011 at 5:05 AM

In a story that did not seem like it could get any more unusual, the long-running Chabad library dispute in Washington, DC that has resulted in a Russian fine art loan embargo for nearly a year took a maritime turn in San Francisco this weekend. At the last minute, a sailing ship named the Nadezhda that was headed to San Francisco on a goodwill tour stopped short of entering the port. It anchored just outside the Golden Gate and awaited a pilot to guide it in. When the pilot headed out, a message was received that the Russian ship would not be docking, and it headed for Mexico.

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Topics: Russia, Restitution, art embargo, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Chabad

Russian Art Embargo News: Chabad Plaintiffs Put Request for Sanctions on Hold

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on October 20, 2011 at 10:21 AM

The Chabad Lubavitch plaintiffs who have been trying for more than six years to obtain the return of the library of Menachem Schneerson—a case which has resulted in an embargo of Russian art loans to the United States for nearly a year—took the unexpected step this week of asking the court to refrain from ruling on a pending motion to find the Russian defendants in contempt. The Russian defendants—who have not appeared or filed anything since refusing to participate further last year, resulting in the default judgment against them—had until October 18 to contest the contempt allegations related to their failure to obey the judgment against them (to return the library).

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Topics: Russia, Restitution, World War II, art embargo, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Chabad

The Met Joins Russian Art Embargo Dispute

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 8, 2011 at 8:05 AM

In the latest development in one of this year’s farthest-reaching art law issues, the Metropolitian Museum of Art announced in August that it will no longer lend its works of art within the Russian Federation so long as the Russian embargo on U.S. loans persists. The Met had planned to loan works by French designer Paul Poiret to the exhibition “Paul Poiret – King of Fashion” at the Kremlin Museum.

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Topics: Russia, Restitution, World War II, art embargo, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Chabad

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About the Blog


The Art Law Report provides timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities. It is authored by Nicholas M. O'Donnell, partner in our Art & Museum Law Practice.

The material on this site is for general information only and is not legal advice. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage which may result from reliance on it. Always consult a qualified lawyer about a specific legal problem.

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