All posts by Peter Bert

Federal Supreme Court: Jurisdictional Issues in the “Lost Art” Database Case

3 August 2023
by Peter Bert
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The judgment of the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in the “Lost Art” database case so far has attracted attention primarily because of its significance for art and restitution law. However, it has something to offer not only in terms of substantive law (more on this will be forthcoming shortly), but also in terms of procedural law: In the judgment published yesterday, the court also considered the question of international jurisdiction based on the failure of a defendant domiciled outside a Member State of the European Union to object to the jurisdiction of the German courts. Read More

Art Law: Lewenstein Heirs v. Bayerische Landesbank – Recommendation of the Advisory Commission

27 July 2023
by Peter Bert
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In the case of the heirs of Hedwig Lewenstein Weyermann and Irma Lewenstein Klein v. Bayerische Landesbank, the Advisory Commission’s decision recommending the restitution of Wassily Kandinsky’s painting Das bunte Leben (The Colourful Life) was published on 13 June 2023. Following a decision to that effect by the Bavarian Landtag, the federal state’s legislature, Bayerische Landesbank has now decided to accept the recommendation and to return the painting. Bayerische Landesbank is a public sector bank owned by the Bavarian state and the Bavarian Sparkassen. Read More

Berlin Administrative Court Allows Freedom of Information Act Access in Support of Arbitral Proceedings

23 July 2023
by Peter Bert
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The Berlin Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht) ruled in favor of information access under the German Freedom of Information Act (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz, IFG) in a case related to the German passenger car toll system (Pkw-Maut). The case revolved around claims from plaintiffs – the prospective toll operators – for specific documents from the Federal Ministry of Transport (Bundesverkehrsministerium). The Ministry had claimed various grounds to withhold the information, including potential adverse effects on ongoing arbitral proceedings. However, the court rejected these arguments and asserted the primacy of the Information Freedom Act (IFG) over the procedural rules of arbitral proceedings. This decision sets an important precedent concerning the interplay between information access and arbitration procedures. Read More

Law to Fight Child Marriages Incompatible with the Basic Law

29 March 2023
by Peter Bert
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This is a post for conflicts of laws nerds and lovers of legal policy – a lesson in symbolic politics and disregard for private international law expertise. And it takes me back to my days as a student assistant to Professor Schurig at Passau University where I learned the tools of the trade..

Following a referral by the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof), the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has overturned the Law to Fight Child Marriages (Gesetz zur Bekämpfung von Kinderehe). Read More