Compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights
- The Government proposes to make a statement that the provisions of the Act are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (the "Convention"). A formal statement under section 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998 is not required because the Act began as a Private Member’s Bill. A statement of compatibility was also made for the 2009 Act, which stated that the 2009 Act engaged a number of Convention rights but strengthened their protection rather than interfering with them. These rights include the right to peaceful enjoyment of property (Article 1, Protocol 1), to a fair trial (Article 6), and to respect for private and family life (Article 8). That statement applies equally to the Act.
- The Act also engages the prohibition on discrimination (Article 14) in combination with the right to peaceful enjoyment of property (Article 1, Protocol 1) because it allows the listed institutions to return lost cultural objects to their owners and heirs but only in cases where the object was lost during the Nazi era. As a result, it treats owners of cultural objects deprived of the peaceful enjoyment of these objects during the Nazi era more favourably than owners of cultural objects outside this group. The Act has the same effect by extending the operation of the 2009 Act indefinitely.
- On the passing of the 2009 Act, potential interference with Article 14 was considered to be objectively justified and reasonable as it recognised the particular obstacles faced by individuals seeking to recover items lost during the Nazi era and the need to promote special arrangements to assist them. The Government remains of the view that limiting the power of return to the Nazi era is justified. The widespread and systematic deprivation of property in this era and the problems faced by individuals seeking to recover their property have been recognised in international declarations as requiring particular measures to remedy, including the Washington Principles. The Act recognises the continued need to assist victims of Nazi expropriation and to give effect to international standards in this area.
