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Hélène Cohen

Hélène Cohen

Hélène has written on the Conseil d’Etat and the convergence between its decisions and those of the Court of Justice (see European Law Review, N°2, 1991) and on the ratification process of the Treaty on European Union in France (ELR, N°3, 1993). She is co-author with Me Pierre Sanglade of “The French legal profession”, (1995 edition of the Handbook for Practitioners: “The Legal Profession in the New Europe”). She has also published on construction law (see Construction law Review, 1997 volume 13, n°2: French construction law: a comparative approach”). In June 1995, she participated in a documentary produced by the BBC legal network television on French civil procedure, and in particular on differences between civil procedure in the English and French systems.

  • Certificat d’Aptitude à la profession d’Avocat (1983)
  • Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies de droit pénal, Université de Paris-X (1980)
  • Maitrise de Droit Public, international et européen, Université Paris-X (1979)
  • Licence de Droit Public, Université-Paris-X (1978)
  • French
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Italian

Hélène Cohen is Avocat à la Cour, member of the Paris Bar since 1984, Associate of Tanfield Chambers since 1996, registered at the Bar Council’s Register of European Lawyers since 2001 and member of Gray’s Inn.

Her interest for both Art (including History of Art) and Law has led her to develop her legal practice in the art world where she has advised and represented art collectors, artists, art historians, private owners, buyers and sellers.

She is specialized in the area of international trade in art and deals with disputes arising under French law and/or which can be brought under French jurisdiction. She has acted in a wide range of disputes related to questions of authenticity of works of art in the context of “Catalogues Raisonnés”, and in litigation cases involving questions of liabilities arising in the context of art works sold through auction houses. She has also experience in issues involving intellectual property rights and the “moral right” of the artist and artist’s successor and in questions of provenance, title and ownership. She also deals with issues related to cross border movements of art, import and export laws and international conventions, and questions of Cultural Heritage in connection with “dations à l’Etat d’oeuvres d’art en paiement de droits de mutation”.

Her legal practice has involved works of art of some great artists such as Auguste Rodin, Francis Picabia, Alberto Magnelli, Jean Arp, Peter II Brueghel dit d’Enfer, Jean Michel Atlan, Pierre Antoine Gallien, Otto Gutfreund, Naum Aronson and Antoine Bourdelle.

Hélène has strong academic interests, including experience teaching at the Law Faculty of King’s College, London, and at London School of Economics (LSE) where she taught French law (during the academic year 1990-91). She has also been the French correspondent of the European Law Review (edited by Sweet and Maxwell) from January 1991 until September 2001.

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