Licit International Art Trade in Times of Armed Conflict?

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
Thomas Fitschen
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Art Trade ◽  
The Law

The articles concerning a licit international trade in artistic and other cultural objects published recently in the first volume of the 1995 International Journal for Cultural Property address a great number of issues concerning current trends in the law governing the exportation, importation and transfer of ownership of cultural property. What is barely mentioned in these articles, however, is the problem of the trade in art objects originating from occupied territories in times of armed conflict.

Recent Developments Concerning the Law for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

1994 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard J. Tanja
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Hague Convention ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
The Hague ◽  
The Law

On May 14, 1954 the Inter-governmental Conference on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict which convened in The Hague, managed to adopt the text of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 Hague Convention). Apart from the Convention as such, the Regulations for the Execution of the Convention, a Protocol directed towards the prevention of the exportation of cultural property from occupied territories during armed conflicts, and three Resolutions were adopted.

A Licit International Trade in Cultural Objects

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Henry Merryman
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Black Market ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Export Controls ◽  
Political Force ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Antiquities Trade ◽  
Archaeological Objects

SummaryRetentive nationalism has until recently dominated thinking about the international movement of cultural property, while the international interest in an active licit trade has been ignored and the interests of museums, collectors and the art and antiquities trade have been denigrated. An active licit market in cultural property advances the international interest, provides income to source nations and reduces the harm done by the black market. Trade in “culturally moveable” objects in private hands serves the international interest and is internationally licit, even when it offends national export controls. Source nations can reduce the damage from clandestine excavations by employing more sophisticated domestic controls and feeding surplus archaeological objects to the licit market. The “commodification” objection to an active trade in cultural objects lacks substance. Market nations can provide the most effective political force for development of an active market. They, and the art and antiquities trade, can help source nations finance organization of their cultural property resources for effective participation in a licit international trade.

The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict

2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

TheHandbookconsists of 32 Chapters in seven parts. Part I provides the historical background and sets out some of the contemporary challenges. Part II considers the relevant sources of international law. Part III describes the different legal regimes: land warfare, air warfare, maritime warfare, the law of occupation, the law applicable to peace operations, and the law of neutrality. Part IV introduces key concepts in international humanitarian law: weapons and the notion of superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering, the principle of distinction, proportionality, genocide and crimes against humanity, grave breaches and war crimes, internal armed conflict. Part V looks at key rights: the right to life, the prohibition on torture, the right to fair trial, economic, social and cultural rights, the protection of the environment, the protection of cultural property, and the human rights of the members of the armed forces. Part VI covers key issues such as: the use of force, terrorism, unlawful combatants, the application of human rights in times of armed conflict, forced migration, and issues of gender. Part VII deals with accountability issues including those related to private security companies, the need to focus on armed groups, as well as questions of state responsibility brought before national courts, and finally, the book addresses issues related to transitional justice.

The Current State of the Antiquities Trade: An Art Dealer’s Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Hixenbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
African Region ◽  
Art Collecting ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Art Trade ◽  
Antiquities Trade ◽  
Religious Reasons ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
Globalized World

Abstract:The antiquities trade is the subject of contentious debate. The anti-trade position stems from a long unquestioned stance within academia that private ownership of antiquities inherently results in archaeological site destruction and the loss of valuable data. However, there is little data to support this notion. It also ignores the enormous contributions to our shared knowledge of the past that have been made through art collecting and museum acquisitions. The narrative that the destruction of ancient sites is directly tied to Western demand for ancient art is overly simplistic. Despite the ongoing destruction in the Middle East and North African region, virtually no artifacts from there have entered the Western trade in recent years. Opportunistic treasure hunting by desperate locals and intentional destruction of ancient objects for religious reasons cannot be curtailed by increased legislation in Western nations. Fetishizing mundane ubiquitous antiquities as sacrosanct objects of great national importance that must be retained within modern borders in a globalized world and demanding criminalization of the legitimate international art trade are counterproductive. In many archaeologically rich countries, antiquities are regarded as items to sell to foreigners at best or sacrilegious objects to be destroyed at worst. The free trade in cultural objects is itself an institution that needs to be protected. An open legitimate trade in antiquities is now more than ever necessary to ensure the preservation and dissemination of worldwide cultural property.

Digitalization of customs control of cultural properties in international trad

2021 ◽  
pp. 363-375
Author(s):  
Kristina Aleksandrovna Voishcheva ◽  
Aleksei Valerievich Bondarenko ◽  
Larisa Sergeevna Pritchina ◽  
Valentin Yur’evich Vakhrushev
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Art Business ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Arms Trade ◽  
Cultural Heritage Objects ◽  
Customs Administration

The development of international trade and the growing influence of visual images on the consciousness of modern society have led to a steadily growing demand for art objects. However, the art market is a gold mine for professional thieves. Every month, more than a thousand works of art are stolen in the world. The criminal art business ranks third after drug trafficking and the arms trade. The level of detection of crimes related to the theft of art objects is still negligibly low (only 1.5 % of court cases end in favor of the owners), the amount of money is colossal (according to general estimates, the global value of stolen works is 3.7 billion pounds), and the interest of the internal authorities of different countries in training specialized search personnel is scanty. The relevance of the presented topic lies in the fact that the globalization of international trade in cultural values and the high corruption component require improving customs administration and improving the quality of customs activities. Today, innovative technologies are able to automate the process of control over cultural values, speed up and simplify the process of interaction between foreign trade participants and customs authorities, as well as ensure complete safety of transportation of cultural heritage objects. Objective: to develop proposals for improving customs control over the movement of cultural property, in particular, by creating an information interdepartmental system for monitoring the movement of cultural property using blockchain technologies and the Internet of Things, which can provide greater transparency in the movement of art objects. Object of research: ensuring customs control over the movement of cultural heritage objects. Subject of research: cutting-edge technologies as a means of improving the effectiveness of customs control over the movement of cultural property.

TheJus Ad Bellum/Jus In BelloDistinction and the Law of Occupation

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 246-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rotem Giladi
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Jus In Bello ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
Broad Scope ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Conventional Expression ◽  
The Law

This is a preliminary inquiry into the application to occupation law of the distinction betweenjus in bello(or IHL) andjus ad bellum.Under current doctrine, the two are mutually exclusive: the former applies irrespective of the “nature or origin of the armed conflict or the causes espoused by the Parties.” I argue that occupation law, although generally considered part of IHL, is intrinsically less susceptible to a strict application of the distinction.Exploring its pedigree, meaning, and rationale, the paper notes the distinction's scant, soft Conventional expression and brief history, but also its fundamental character and the broad scope attributed to it under contemporary IHL. Although the distinction sometimes fulfill important humanitarian functions in occupied territories, occupation law—in regulating governance of territory—differs from ordinary IHL norms; this and other differences render the strict application of the distinction to occupation law, whose key norms often depend on jus ad bellum references to the “nature, origin and causes” of armed conflict, impossible.The last part of the Paper calls for a more nuanced approach to the application of the distinction to occupation law and identifies some of its contours. Such an approach can enhance the efficacy of occupation law and facilitate fulfillment of the two different functions of occupation law: protection of individuals and the maintenance of international peace and security. The Paper concludes with preliminary observations on the roles and powers, under bothjus ad bellumandjus in bello,of the Security Council with regard to occupied territories.

Cultural property ethics

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Merryman
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Hypothetical Case ◽  
Export Controls ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Art Trade ◽  
Difficult Area ◽  
Legal Controls ◽  
Ethical Response

After briefly discussing ethics in general, stating the public interest in cultural property, and positing that collecting and dealing in cultural objects are not inherently unethical activities, the writer contrasts ethical attitudes toward legal controls over the international movement of people and of cultural objects. He then discusses the ethical bases of cultural property export controls and ethical questions raised by dealing in and collecting cultural objects, and identifies particular applications of export controls that are ethically unproblematic or ethically clouded. He discusses the difficult area of antiquities and questions whether anyone involved in it - from source nations, archaeologists, and ethnographers to museums, collectors, and the art trade - has clean hands. Finally, he states a hypothetical case of invited theft and asks readers to decide what the ethical response would be.

8 Protection of Civilians

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dörmann Knut
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Foreign Occupation ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Character

This chapter assesses the provisions of international law concerning the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The rules applicable in international armed conflict are highly developed and extensively codified. Of course, their scope of application is limited to conflicts of an international character, in particular armed clashes between states. Situations of foreign occupation are also international armed conflicts. The four Geneva Conventions, supplemented by their first 1977 Additional Protocol, constitute the heart of protections granted to civilians in international armed conflicts. Meanwhile, the law protecting civilians in non-international armed conflicts has been codified by Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions and the second 1999 Additional Protocol. Although these provisions are more summary in nature than the law on international armed conflicts, they contain important rules on the protection of civilians in an internal conflict. The chapter then considers the provisions concerning situations in which a party to an armed conflict comes into contact with civilians of the opposing side, especially with aliens on its own territory and with inhabitants of occupied territories.

scholarly journals Whose Cultural Objects? Introducing Heritage Title for Cross-Border Cultural Property Claims

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-295
Author(s):  
Evelien Campfens
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
Art Trade

Abstract Cultural objects have a special, protected, status because of their intangible ‘heritage’ value to people, as symbols of an identity. This has been so since the first days of international law and, today, there is an extensive legal framework to protect cultural objects and to prohibit looting. Despite this, for as long as demand exists and profits are high, cultural objects continue to be looted, smuggled and traded. At some point, their character tends to change from protected heritage in an original setting to valuable art and commodity in the hands of new possessors. In this new setting, the legal status of such objects most likely will be a matter of ownership and the private law regime in the country where they happen to end up. This article suggests that, irrespective of the acquired rights of others, original owners should still be able to rely on a ‘heritage title’ if there is a continuing cultural link. The term aims to capture the legal bond between cultural objects and people, distinct from ownership, and is informed by international cultural heritage and human rights law norms. The proposition is that, whilst ownership interests are accounted for in national private law, legal tools are lacking to address heritage interests and identity values that are acknowledged in international law. Neither the existing legal framework for the art trade, based on the 1970 UNESCO Convention, nor regular ownership concepts appear particularly suited to solve title issues over contested cultural objects. The notion of ‘heritage title’ in a human rights law approach can act as a bridge in that regard.

The fundamental aims of cultural property law

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 376-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
FG Fechner
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Property Law ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Cultural Object ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Conventions

The law of cultural property is primarily based on the interests of the states concerned. If a cultural object is of high monetary or identificatory value, states will contest the ownership, and many of these cases are resolved by compromise. If a cultural object is of less monetary or identificatory value, states often neglect its preservation. Yet the law for protection of cultural property should not only be a method for the arbitration of national interests but should also take into account the interests of humankind in general, including preservation of the object in its original context, public accessibility, and the scientific, historic and aesthetic interests that can be associated with an object. While some states are unable to protect their cultural heritage, especially in times of war, public international law does not prevent a state from destroying its cultural heritage. Cultural heritage law is developing rapidly, and national laws and international conventions are in the process of creation. At this time, the author posits, it is therefore necessary to consider the reasons for the protection of cultural objects.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document