On 17 August 2020, the UK Supreme Court dismissed the application to appeal against Court of Appeal decision on the Ivory Act 2018 (“the Act”).

The Act includes wide ranging prohibitions on the domestic and international trade in ivory, and was introduced after the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) revealed that the UK was the world’s leading exporter of antique ivory, particularly to China and Hong Kong, two hotspots for the world’s illegal trade for poached ivory.

The Act was challenged by Friends of Antique Cultural Treasures (FACT) Ltd, a company set up to fight the Act’s near total ban on the trade of antique ivory – at a judicial review in the High Court in November 2019. Its appeal against the High Court decision was dismissed in February 2020 in favour of the Act. The appeal was once again dismissed by the Court of Appeal in May 2020, upholding the Act’s validity and legality.

EIA has advocated for the adoption of ivory trade restrictions in the UK, and argued that any legal trade in ivory provides cover for the illegal trade since it is difficult to distinguish between antique and newly carved ivory.

Mary Rice, EIA Executive Director, commented that it was the time to celebrate the decision to close the UK’s ivory markets and congratulate the UK for its perseverance and tenacity in upholding the ban, said:

“We are delighted to learn that the Supreme Court has rejected a further application to appeal against the UK Government’s ivory ban, considered one of the strictest of all bans globally.”

However, Richard Pike, parter at Constantine Cannon who was advising FACT said:

“We are disappointed that the legal challenge is at an end. Our view has always been that the Ivory Act is a disproportionate measure, doing terrible damage to the UK’s artistic and cultural heritage for little, if any, benefit.”

With no other judicial challenge against it, the Act is expected to come into effect soon and once the Government has issued guidance on certain key provisions and secondary legislation. By setting out how the Act will apply in practice, it will assist dealers and collectors in assessing the scope of the Act on their business and collecting activities. A government consultation on these topics is also anticipated and it is hoped that it will provide an opportunity for the trade to respond and put forward its concerns and recommendations.     

Courtesy of Thomson Ying

Main source: Environmental Investigation Agency