ABSTRACT
During the year 2006 many of the legal issues in museum acquisitions of stolen antiquities and art looted during World War II continued to be in the forefront of international news. The prosecution of Marion True, former curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and antiquities dealers Robert Hecht and Giacomo de Medici for conspiring to traffic in stolen antiquities continued in Rome. The trial has had a momentous effect on the restitution policies of major museums in the United States. It has been an especially active year for cases and controversies involving the restitution of art looted from Jewish families during the Holocaust. The American Association of Museum Directors (AAMD) has responded to many of the issues by publishing new guidelines on the acquisition of archaeological and ancient art, as well as sacred items.
