The Holocaust Stolen Art Restitution Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons last month.
The private member's bill, which was brought by Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, would allow national museums to deaccession objects from their collections if it could be proved they were stolen by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
At the moment, national museums are prevented by law from returning such items to their owners, even if provenance can be established. A porcelain plate, which had been looted by the Gestapo in 1938, was found in the collection of the British Museum last year, but could not be returned to its owners because the British Museum Act forbids deaccessioning under any circumstances. Instead, the museum paid the owners £18,000 in compensation.
Speaking in parliament, Dismore said it was estimated that there are at least 20 looted items in UK museum collections. He said "it should be for the rightful owners to decide the fate of the object". Dismore added that he hoped the bill would rectify decades of injustice.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it supported the bill in principle, but wished to bring amendments at committee stage. He said: "It has done well to get this far and we are reasonably optimistic that it will get past committee stage."
The private member's bill, which was brought by Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, would allow national museums to deaccession objects from their collections if it could be proved they were stolen by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
At the moment, national museums are prevented by law from returning such items to their owners, even if provenance can be established. A porcelain plate, which had been looted by the Gestapo in 1938, was found in the collection of the British Museum last year, but could not be returned to its owners because the British Museum Act forbids deaccessioning under any circumstances. Instead, the museum paid the owners £18,000 in compensation.
Speaking in parliament, Dismore said it was estimated that there are at least 20 looted items in UK museum collections. He said "it should be for the rightful owners to decide the fate of the object". Dismore added that he hoped the bill would rectify decades of injustice.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it supported the bill in principle, but wished to bring amendments at committee stage. He said: "It has done well to get this far and we are reasonably optimistic that it will get past committee stage."
