Foundations

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the Western Allies and subsequently the Federal Republic of Germany enacted restitution laws to compensate Nazi injustice and to   restitute assets seized as a result of Nazi persecution. When the US government convened the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets in 1998, 44 states – including the Federal Republic of Germany – and 13 non-governmental organisations endorsed the non-binding Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art  (“Washington Principles”). Guided by a sense of historical and moral responsibility, the signatory states declared their shared objective of identifying cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, locating its former owners or their heirs, and  finding just and fair solutions. In addition, a set of Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art  (“Best Practices”) was published in 2024, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Washington Principles.

In December 1999, the federal government, the Länder and the national associations of local authorities issued a Statement  on the tracing and return of Nazi-confiscated art, especially Jewish property (“Common Statement”), explicitly affirming their commitment to the Washington Principles. In order to provide practical guidance, the Guidelines for implementing the Statement by the Federal Government, the Länder and the national associations of local authorities on the tracing and return of Nazi-confiscated art, especially Jewish property, of December 1999 (“Guidelines”) were first published in 2001 and most recently revised in 2025.

Additionally, with the aim of supporting the implementation of the Washington Principles and the Common Statement, the federal government, the Länder and the national associations of local authorities established by an accord in 2003 the Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property (“Advisory Commission”). Serving as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, the Advisory Commission operated from 2003 until 30 November 2025. It was succeeded on 1 December 2025 by the Court of Arbitration for Nazi-looted Cultural Property.

The Court of Arbitration is based on the Administrative Agreement Establishing Joint Arbitration for Disputes Concerning the Return of Nazi-Looted Cultural Property (“Administrative Agreement”), signed by the federal government, the Länder and the national associations of local authorities, which entered into force on 26 March 2025. The Court of Arbitration for Nazi-Looted Property reaches its decisions based on the procedural Rules of Arbitration of the Court of Arbitration for Nazi-looted Cultural Property (“Rules of Arbitration”) and the binding Assessment Framework for examining and deciding on the treatment of Nazi-looted cultural property (“Assessment Framework”).