CAfA – Court of Arbitration for Art
For full information visit the CAfA website
CAfA: A Brief History
2012/2013
- Prof Dr Nico Schrijver and Milko den Leeuw develop the idea for a court for legal disputes involving the authenticity of paintings.
The idea was motivated by the Groninger Plough and similar large scale forgery cases - Together with Willem O. Russell and Drs Ingeborg de Jongh the plan was developed to form a specialized court
- With the financial support of AiA’s sponsors and the City of The Hague the first exploration was set up
- Initial exploratory efforts are started for the Authentication in Art Mediation Board (AiA-MB)
- AiA Workgroup Art & Law is established
2014
- 9 May: AiA Workgroup Art & Law present the Guidelines Art & Law at the AiA 2014 Congress
- 4 September: Milko den Leeuw formally announces the AiA-MB at the Art Business Conference in London
- November: AiA puts out more information on the development of the AiA-MB
2015
- April: The AiA-MB project announces a collaboration with IT students from the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam for a digital filling system for the Board
- July: Report on the digital filling system is completed and will be presented at the AiA 2016 Congress
2016
- January: After a search for potential partners AiA and Nederlands Arbitrage Instituut (NAI) partner up to realize the AiA-MB
- 12 May: AiA and NAI formally present their collaboration at the AiA 2016 Congress
- 12 November: The AiA-MB is presented during a lecture by Milko den Leeuw at Art Taipei
2017
- March: Announcement presentation and launch AiA-MB at the AiA 2018 Congress
- September: Workgroup Art & Law tasked with developing the Rules of Procedure for the renamed AiA/NAI Alternative Dispute Resolution (AiA/NAI-ADR) Board is set-up under the presidency of William Charron
2018
- January: Scope of CAfA is broadened to include all art related disputes
- 1 May: The Groninger Plough forgery case is featured in the Dutch Program Opgelicht?! (Scammed?!) with Oliver Spapens as expert
- May: Official announcement launch Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA), the final name for the court, at the AiA 2018 Congress
- 8 June: The Groninger Plough forgery case is presented in a lecture by Oliver Spapens during the AiA 2018 Congress
- 8 June: CAfA is officially launched by Alderman of the Hague Robert van Asten during the AiA 2018 Congress
- September: Applications for the pool of arbiters and mediators opens
2019
2020
- January: Call for pool of experts
- April: Art arbitration panel in The Hague steps up a gear to tackle complex disputes – The Art Newspaper
Please note: CAfA is a fully independent legal entity with an independent Board of Directors. The Authentication in Art Foundation will not be involved or responsible for any cases brought before CAfA
About CAfA
CAfA is a specialized arbitration and mediation tribunal exclusively dedicated to resolving art law disputes. CAfA will conduct proceedings around the globe, addressing the full spectrum of art disputes, including authenticity, contract and chain of title disputes, copyright claims and more
The cases will be heard by arbitrators and mediators who are seasoned lawyers and are familiar with industry practice and issues specific to art disputes. For arbitrations in which forensic science and provenance issues arise, which are often at the core of disputes in the art industry, tribunal appointed experts will provide neutral expert evidence. Through involving leading industry arbitrators, mediators and experts, CAfA aims to increase the quality of the decision making and the market acceptability of the outcome of disputes. CAfA further aims to provide cost and time efficient dispute resolution services
CAfA is the result of a collaboration between AiA and the Dutch Institute for Arbitration and was launched during the Authentication in Art 2018 Congress
The Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA) is now accepting applications for the Pool of Arbiters and Mediatiors
CAfA is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications from candidate arbitrators and mediators to be considered for placement in the CAfA arbitrator and the mediator pool. In order to ensure that the arbitrators and mediators obtain the desired level of (art law) experience, CAfA established a set of selection criteria. These selection criteria can be downloaded here. CAfA invites those persons that consider themselves to meet these criteria to make an application through submission of an application form, that can be filled out here for arbitrators and here for mediators after registration of your e-mail address
All applications will be reviewed by a selection committee consisting of academics and former judges who have gained particular experience in art law. The selection committee will propose candidates for placement into the arbitrator and mediator pools to CAfA. Following submissions of applications, the candidates will receive a confirmation thereof and successful candidates will be inserted in the arbitrator and mediator pool, which will be published online. By submissions of applications, candidates agree that their data is being processed by CAfA, the NAI and AiA
The CAfA Arbitration Rules (which consist of the NAI Arbitration Rules + the AiA/NAI Adjunct Arbitration Rules) will be published shortly
Interview by ArtTactic with AiA Workgroup members Bill Charron and Megan Noh
Talking about the newly established CAfA
CAfA News
William Charron Named a “New York Trailblazer” by New York Law Journal – Pryor Cashman
Cheers: A New Court for Resolving Art Disputes – Center for Art Law
The Hague’s art arbitration court to open in April – The Art Newspaper
Authentication in Art December 2018 Newsletter
Minister promises ‘balance’ in the application of ivory regulations – Antiques Trade Gazette
A Arte vai à Corte – O Uso de Arbitragem nas Controvérsias Jurídico-Artísticas – GenJurídico
Q&A: Law Alumnus Spearheads New Art Arbitration Court – Univeristy of Virginia Today
Bill Charron And Megan Noh – Court of Arbitration for Art – ArtTactic (external link)
Art world legal disputes head to The Hague – Antiques trade Gazette
There Are So Many Art Disputes, a Dedicated Arbitration Court Is Opening in The Hague – The Observer
New tribunal aims to provide expertise and impartiality for art disputes – The Art Newspaper
The Art World Has No Shortage of Legal Disputes. A New Court Wants to Help. – Artnet
