Article

Disposals from museum collections A note on legal considerations in England and Wales

September 1991
Museum Management and Curatorship 10(3):255-261

DOI:10.1016/0964-7775(91)90059-Z

Authors:

Twenty years ago the legal issues which obfuscate disposals from museum collections were described as ‘a muddy corner of the law through which some may attempt to drive a coach and horses’.1 Today the water is no clearer and the postillions are more inclined to make a splash. It may be timely, therefore, to examine how English law bears on what can be one of the most controversial of museum issues.The laws of Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, of course, from those of England and Wales, and this paper does not consider their situation. Nor can it be prescriptive. Only Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments have the force of law; the courts alone can interpret the law authoritatively. The views expressed herein are not those of a lawyer, but of a practising museum worker. They are no more than personal opinions. Proposed disposals from museum collections should be subject to legal advice specific to each circumstance.

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