This is a brief excerpt from the document you requested from IFAR’s Art Law & Cultural Property Database.

Case Summary

Attorney-General of New Zealand v. Ortiz and Others

Attorney-General of New Zealand v. Ortiz and Others, [1981] Q.B., 2 W.L.R. 10 (Eng.); aff'd, [1982] EWCA (Civ), 2 W.L.R. 343 (Eng.).

Précis

At issue in this United Kingdom case, one of the earliest to address cultural heritage claims and   illegal export, was whether a Maori artifact had been automatically forfeited by virtue of having been illegally exported from New Zealand. The British House of Lords, the final decision-making body, denied New Zealand’s claim to the pre-1800 Maori door carving, holding that . . . .






Click here to subscribe to IFAR's Art Law & Cultural Property Database to access this and other documents about U.S. and international legislation and case law concerning the acquisition, authenticity, export, ownership, and copyright of art objects.