Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

Names this bill the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025.

This Act may be cited as the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025.

This section amends the 2016 Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act.

The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended—

Makes changes to section 2 of the 2016 Act.

(1) in section 2—

Renumbers paragraph 8 to paragraph 10 in section 2.

(A) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (10);

Adds two new paragraphs 8 and 9 after paragraph 7.

(B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:

States the Act permits Nazi-looted art recovery claims despite passage of time.

(8) The intent of this Act is to permit claims to recover Nazi-looted art to be brought, notwithstanding the passage of time since World War II. Some courts have frustrated the intent of this Act by dismissing recovery lawsuits in reliance on defenses based on the passage of time, such as laches (for example, Zuckerman v Metropolitan Museum of Art, 928 F.3d 186 (2d Cir. 2019)) or adverse possession, acquisitive prescription, or usucapion (for example, Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, 89 F.4th 1226 (9th Cir. 2024)) or on other non-merits discretionary defenses, such as the act of state doctrine (for example, Von Saher v Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 897 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir. 2018)), forum non conveniens, international comity, or prudential exhaustion. In order to effectuate the purpose of the Act to permit claims to recover Nazi-looted art to be resolved on the merits, these defenses must be precluded.

Extends art recovery claims to anyone persecuted by Nazi governments regardless of nationality.

(9) This Act also is intended to allow claims in accordance with the procedures under this Act for the recovery of artwork or other property lost during the covered period because, or as a result, of Nazi persecution, including by a covered government (as defined in section 1605(h)(3)(B) of title 28, United States Code) or an agent or associate of a covered government, regardless of the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim, notwithstanding the domestic takings rule under Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, 592 U.S. 169 (2021).

Punctuation element connecting previous amendments.

(B) ; and

Modifies paragraph 10 language to acknowledge settlements may sometimes yield fair resolutions.

(C) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, by striking will yield just and fair resolutions in a more efficient and predictable manner and inserting may, in some circumstances, yield just and fair resolutions as well;

Adds non-merits defenses to the types of obstacles this Act addresses.

(2) in section 3(2), by inserting and other non-merits defenses after statutes of limitation;

Makes changes to section 5 of the 2016 Act.

(3) in section 5—

Deletes subsection g from section 5.

(A) by striking subsection (g);

Renumbers subsections e and f to h and i respectively.

(B) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (h) and (i), respectively;

Renumbers subsections b, c, and d to c, d, and e respectively.

(C) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively;

Adds a new subsection b after subsection a in section 5.

(D) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

Treats art recovery claims as involving international law violations to overcome foreign government immunity.

Notwithstanding any other law or prior judicial decision, any civil claim or cause of action covered by subsection (a) shall be deemed to be an action in which rights in violation of international law are in issue for purposes of section 1605(a)(3) of title 28, United States Code, without regard to the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim.

Punctuation element connecting previous amendments.

(D) ;

Updates a reference in subsection d from subsection e to subsection h.

(E) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking subsection (e) and inserting subsection (h);

Makes changes to subsection e of section 5.

(F) in subsection (e), as so redesignated—

Expands subsection e to apply multiple subsections instead of just subsection a.

(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Subsection (a) and inserting Subsections (a), (b), (f), and (g); and

Extends subsection e to cover claims filed on or after this Act's enactment date.

(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking during the period and all that follows and inserting on or after the date of enactment of this Act.; and

Adds two new subsections f and g after subsection e.

(G) by inserting after subsection (e), as so redesignated, the following:

Prohibits time-based and procedural defenses in Nazi-looted art recovery lawsuits.

With respect to any claim that is otherwise timely under this Act—

Bans laches, adverse possession, prescriptive acquisition, and usucapion defenses in these claims.

(1) all defenses or substantive doctrines based on the passage of time, including laches, adverse possession, acquisitive prescription, and usucapion, may not be applied with respect to the claim; and

Bans discretionary dismissals based on act of state doctrine, comity, and similar procedural doctrines.

(2) all non-merits discretionary bases for dismissal, including the act of state doctrine, international comity, forum non conveniens, prudential exhaustion, and similar doctrines unrelated to the merits, may not be applied with respect to the claim.

Allows serving defendants anywhere in the United States for art recovery lawsuits.

For a civil action brought under subsection (a) in any State or Federal court, process may be served in the judicial district where the case is brought or any other judicial district of the United States where the defendant may be found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business.

Punctuation element connecting previous amendments.

(G) ; and

Adds a severability clause at the end of the 2016 Act.

(4) by adding at the end the following:

If any part of this Act is ruled invalid, the rest remains in effect.

If any provision of this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, and the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

Punctuation element completing amendments to the 2016 Act.

(4) .

Applies all amendments to pending and future art recovery lawsuits.

The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any civil claim or cause of action that is—

Applies amendments to cases pending in court or on appeal when this Act becomes law.

(1) pending in any court on the date of enactment of this Act, including any civil claim or cause of action that is pending on appeal or for which the time to file an appeal has not expired; or

Applies amendments to art recovery lawsuits filed after this Act becomes law.

(2) filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act.