This bill strengthens the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 by explicitly barring time-based and non-merits defenses to ensure fair adjudication of claims for art stolen by the Nazis.
John Cornyn
Senator
TX
The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025 significantly strengthens the ability of victims and heirs to sue for the recovery of art and property stolen by the Nazis. This update explicitly blocks time-based and non-merits defenses, such as laches or the act of state doctrine, ensuring claims are decided on their facts. The law also expands the scope of recoverable property and clarifies that these provisions apply immediately to pending and future cases.
New Art Recovery Bill Blocks Time-Limit Defenses for Nazi-Looted Property Cases
When you’re talking about property stolen over 80 years ago, the legal system usually throws up a bunch of roadblocks based on how much time has passed. This bill, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, is essentially an emergency bypass lane for victims and heirs trying to reclaim art and property stolen during the Nazi era. It starts by clarifying that the entire point of the law is to let people sue to get their stuff back, regardless of how long ago the theft happened, and it backs that up with some serious procedural changes.
No More 'Too Much Time Has Passed' Excuses
Imagine finally tracking down a priceless family painting stolen in 1942, only for the current owner to argue, "Sorry, you waited too long to sue." This bill shuts that argument down cold. The biggest change here is that courts are explicitly banned from using time-based defenses—like laches (unreasonable delay in making a claim) or adverse possession (claiming ownership because you’ve possessed it for a long time)—to dismiss these specific art recovery cases. If your claim is otherwise valid, the court has to hear it on the merits of the theft, not just procedural excuses. This is a massive win for heirs, many of whom are elderly or have spent decades simply trying to locate the stolen property, and it applies immediately to any case currently pending, even if it’s already on appeal.
Blocking Procedural Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Cards
Beyond time limits, the bill also targets procedural defenses that let courts avoid looking at the facts of the case. Think of defenses like the "act of state doctrine" or "forum non-conveniens." These are technical maneuvers that essentially say, “This isn’t the right place to decide this, or we can’t rule on the actions of a foreign government.” The updated law blocks courts from using these discretionary dismissals in art recovery claims. Furthermore, it expands the scope to cover property lost not just to Nazis, but also to agents of a “covered government" (like a foreign state sponsor of terrorism), which could open the door for victims of other historic state-sponsored seizures to seek recovery.
The Real-World Impact on Property Rights
For the average person, this bill might seem hyper-specific, but it’s a huge clarification of property rights for a specific, historically wronged group. It means that if you’re the grandchild of a Holocaust victim and you find your family’s seized tapestry hanging in a museum, the legal battle will now center on proving the theft, not defeating technical legal clock-running arguments. This change also affects existing possessors of the art, who may have bought the piece in good faith decades ago and relied on those time-based defenses to secure their ownership. The bill essentially tells them that, in these specific cases involving Nazi-looted art, the historical injustice outweighs their reliance on standard property law defenses. It’s a clear legislative choice prioritizing restitution over legal precedent, and it’s a big deal because it retroactively alters the rules of engagement in ongoing lawsuits.