British Museum Act 1963

The British Museum Act 1963 (c. 24) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced the British Museum Act 1902. It was introduced by the second ministry of the Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The Act forbids the British Museum and the Natural History Museum from disposing of their holdings, except in a small number of special circumstances. In May 2005 a judge of the High Court of England and Wales ruled that Nazi-looted Old Master artworks held at the British Museum could not be returned.^[1]

British Museum Act 1963

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to alter the composition of the Trustees of the British Museum, to provide for the separation from the British Museum of the British Museum (Natural History), to make new provision with respect to the regulation of the two Museums and their collections in place of that made by the British Museum Act 1753 and enactments amending or supplementing that Act, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation	1963 c. 24
Dates
Royal assent	10 July 1963
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	British Museum Act 1753 British Museum Act 1767 British Museum Act 1805 British Museum Act 1807 British Museum Act 1816 British Museum Act 1824 British Museum (No. 2) Act 1824 British Museum Act 1832 British Museum Act 1839 British Museum Act 1878 British Museum Act 1902 British Museum Act 1924 British Museum Act 1930 British Museum Act 1938 British Museum Act 1955 British Museum Act 1962
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Act also made the Natural History Museum an independent organisation from the British Museum, with its own board of trustees.