In the United States continues hearing on the restitution of paintings by Camille Pissarro "Rue Saint-Honore. Noon. Rain "currently held in the Spanish Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza

In the United States continues hearing on the restitution of paintings by Camille Pissarro (Camille Pissarro) «Rue Saint-Honore. Noon. Rain, stored now in the Spanish Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza.

In 2005, an elderly resident of San Diego Claude Cassirer (Claude Cassirer) filed a U.S. lawsuit, which demanded that the government Spain and the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection returned to him this work, once belonged to his grandmother Lilly (Lilly). In 1939, she fled from Germany before his departure now passing Nazi art dealer. After World War II painting was sold, changed a few owners and some time was considered lost. In 1958 the German authorities even paid grandmother Cassirer compensation in the amount of 120 thousand German marks. In 1976, the "Rue Saint-Honore acquired Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), and in 1993 it bought the Spanish Government, together with other pieces from the collection of Baron. Since then, the painting and exhibited at the Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

The question about the restitution of several protracted due to the lack of a global practice of clear rules concerning the immunity of sovereign states. The Spanish Government and the Foundation Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza insist that Spain as a sovereign State can not obey the judicial authorities of other states and thus immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts. In an interview with The Art Newspaper Fund's legal counsel said: "Foundation Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, carefully considered all the historical data relating to the claim of Mr. Cassirer, and forced to reject it. We believe that this case should not be considered in a U.S. court. " In response to that Cassirer himself said: "I have waited for more than 70 years to return this family now, and the refusal of Spain to fulfill his promise to return the items stolen by the Nazis, I was extremely saddened».

In September 2009 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a lawsuit Cassirer can be seen in a U.S. court in accordance with the "expropriation exception" in U.S. law on the immunity of foreign states (US Foreign Sovereign Immumities Act, FSIA). Under this exception, the country can not enjoy immunity in those cases when it comes to "property seized in violation of international law". Spain in his own defense said that in this case may lose immunity only Germany, since the painting was seized by the authorities of that country. However, the Immunity Act, there is another exception, as indicated in its ruling, the appeals court judges: Foundation Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza has in the U.S. "commercial activity" and therefore can not be protected from lawsuits in U.S. courts.

However, in December 2009, the majority of the judges of the Court of Appeals 9 th District in San Francisco voted for that decision in September last year, a resolution should be reviewed. And now, on March 22 the judges to re-examine all the arguments and decide whether an American citizen of Cassirer's claim against Spain and the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection seen in U.S. courts.

Material prepared Ekaterina Guseva, AI

Source: theartnewspaper.com , artinvestment.ru