The City of Gotha and Federal Republic of Germany v. Sotheby's and Cobert Finance S.A. was a September 1998 case in the High Court of England and Wales involving the ownership of a Joachim Wtewael painting. The case was the first reported court decision on section 221 of the German Civil Code (Burgerliches Gesetzbuch). This section involves the limitation of proprietary actions when a third party has acquired possession of the property. The case is important in regards to the concepts of statutes of limitation and acquisitive prescription. It also contains a fascinating tale of state art trophies, theft, smuggling, backstabbing and restitution, against the background of major European political events, written by a judge with a sense of humor.

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  • City of Gotha and Federal Republic of Germany v. Sotheby's and Cobert Finance S.A. (en)
rdfs:comment
  • The City of Gotha and Federal Republic of Germany v. Sotheby's and Cobert Finance S.A. was a September 1998 case in the High Court of England and Wales involving the ownership of a Joachim Wtewael painting. The case was the first reported court decision on section 221 of the German Civil Code (Burgerliches Gesetzbuch). This section involves the limitation of proprietary actions when a third party has acquired possession of the property. The case is important in regards to the concepts of statutes of limitation and acquisitive prescription. It also contains a fascinating tale of state art trophies, theft, smuggling, backstabbing and restitution, against the background of major European political events, written by a judge with a sense of humor. (en)
name
  • The City of Gotha v Sotheby's (en)
foaf:depiction
  • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha_in_the_German_Reich_(1871).svg
  • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/London_sothebys_09.03.2013_12-35-21.jpg
  • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Deutschland_Lage_von_Thüringen.svg
  • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Joachim_Wtewael_-_Self-portrait_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
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  • Joachim Wtewael - Self-portrait (en)
citations
  • The Times (en)
court
full name
  • The City of Gotha and Federal Republic of Germany v Sotheby's and Cobert Finance S.A. (en)
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judges
keywords
  • (en)
  • conflict of laws (en)
  • acts of state (en)
  • conveyance (en)
  • cultural artifacts (en)
  • lex situs (en)
  • personal property (en)
has abstract
  • The City of Gotha and Federal Republic of Germany v. Sotheby's and Cobert Finance S.A. was a September 1998 case in the High Court of England and Wales involving the ownership of a Joachim Wtewael painting. The case was the first reported court decision on section 221 of the German Civil Code (Burgerliches Gesetzbuch). This section involves the limitation of proprietary actions when a third party has acquired possession of the property. The case is important in regards to the concepts of statutes of limitation and acquisitive prescription. It also contains a fascinating tale of state art trophies, theft, smuggling, backstabbing and restitution, against the background of major European political events, written by a judge with a sense of humor. Despite the importance of the decision under both English and German law, it does not appear in any of the official law reports or on BAILII, and the only public report of the case appears in The Times newspaper (9 September 1998). Professor Adrian Briggs of Oxford University has described that omission as "a disgrace". A full copy of the original judgment, initialled by Justice Moses, is here. However, by 5 May 2020, the judgement had made its way onto BAILLI, as had a preliminary hearing relating to disclosure. (en)
date decided
prior actions
  • [1997] EWCA Civ 1897, [1998] 1 WLR 114 (en)
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