Recovering Stolen Art ? Australian, English and Us Law on Limitations of Action

Abstract

Statutory limitations periods can bar claims to recover stolen artworks. In doing this, Australian limitations law generally does not consider the conduct of either a dispossessed owner or current possessor of a stolen work. This paper compares Australian, English and US law on the issue and argues that recent reform suggestions should be extended so Australian law does encourage all art market actors to be diligent in their dealings with works that may have been stolen.

Keywords: comparative law, property law

JEL Classification: K10, K11