Commission for provenance research

The aim of the Art Restitution Act which was passed in Austria in 1998 as well as the modification of federal law concerning the restitution of works of art in 2009 is to give collective items from Austrian federal museums and collections, which became federal property because or as a result of the NS-tyranny, back to their original owners or their rightful heirs (History/Parliamentary Practice for Modification (http://www.parlament.gv.at/PG/DE/XXIV/I/I_00238/pmh.shtml)).
The contents of the archives of the Austrian federal museums and collections are therefore inspected systematically and consistently. Staff members of the Commission for Provenance Research operate in the individual federal museums, where they inspect the inventory, holdings of the archives and objects for provenance clues. With the help of corresponding databases, registries and files the results of the research are summarized in dossiers and are transmitted to the office of the Commission for Provenance Research. The office presents these dossiers to the Advisory Board established in the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, according to § 3 of the Art Restitution Act.
The Advisory Board which holds regular meetings inspects the dossier and assesses the circumstances according to the requirements of the Art Restitution Act. The Advisory Board addresses its recommendations to the Federal Minister in charge respectively, in this case the Federal Minister for Education, Arts and Culture. The recommendations (/index.aspx?ID=24&LID=2) are published.
 
The Commission’s analysis occurs systematically as a result of statutory assignment and does not occur as a result of underlying claims by persons concerned. Nevertheless, the Commission’s office is available as contact and inquiry office as well as coordination office for restitutions of other regional authorities (provinces, municipalities (/index.aspx?ID=30&LID=2)). The Commission’s and the Advisory Board’s functions are described to the National Assembly in the annual Restitution Reports (“Restitution Reports (/index.aspx?ID=26&LID=1)” and on the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture’s website (http://www.bmukk.gv.at/kultur/rest/restber.xml)).