The Institute of Art & Law is organising a seminar on March 5th 2008 in Sydney, Australia, entitled Repatriation, Deaccessioning and the Integrity of Museum and Archive Collections. Amongst the speakers, is David Hill – the chair of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
Institute of Art & Law

Repatriation, Deaccessioning and the Integrity of Museum and Archive Collections
A study forum organised by The Institute of Art and Law with the support of the Australasian Registrars Committee
Sydney 5th March 2007

At no time in the history of public collecting have claims and proposals for the relocation of articles from museums caused greater controversy or provoked more searching analysis. The intensity of the debate has led museums into a fundamental re-examination of their social purpose and ethical basis. Return initiatives range from Holocaust-related art to human remains, encompassing sacred and traditional material, documentary archives and the products of armed conflict or colonisation. Virtually every major museum has experienced pressure for change and radical changes have already occurred. Specific developments in diplomacy, litigation and alternative dispute resolution have begun to colour the landscape.

Drawing on the experiences of an international panel of experts, this study forum will look critically at modern practice and policy and will endeavour to identify recurrent attitudes and models for greater understanding. The emphasis will be on the conciliatory resolution of challenges to museum retention and the shaping of a forward-looking approach: one that observes law, decency, tradition, due process and the birth of future relationships.

The Keynote Address will be given by Sir Lawrence Street, AC, KCMG, QC, Commercial Mediator and ADR Consultant, former Chief Justice of New South Wales, and speakers include:

Peter Tree SC, counsel, Tasmania and NSW: Human remains and the TAC-NHM mediation

David Hill (Author): Ancient art, archaic artifice: the reunification of ravaged assemblages

Jessica Caban, solicitor, Deacon’s, Sydney: Charity, Morality and the Conscionable Relinquishment of Cultural Objects by Public Benefit Entities

Lyndel Prott, adjunct Professor, Australian National University: Nazi-related claims: post-War Legal and Diplomatic Initiatives and their Relevance to Modern Australia

Patrick O’Keefe, adjunct Professor, Australian National University: Sacred objects and spiritual emblems

Professor Norman Palmer, counsel, London, Chair Treasure Valuation Committee (UK): Themes and issues in modern repatriation initiatives

Monica Jackson, archaeologist: Allocating cultural objects to modern political units: stylistic migration and the fluidity of ancient frontiers