Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects

 

Chapter I – Scope Of Application And Definition

Article 1

This Convention applies to claims of an international character for:

(a) the restitution of stolen cultural objects;

(b) the return of cultural objects removed from the territory of
a Contracting State contrary to its law regulating the export
of cultural objects for the purpose of protecting its
cultural heritage (hereinafter “illegally exported cultural
objects”).

Article 2

For the purposes of this Convention, cultural objects are those
which, on religious or secular grounds, are of importance for
archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science and belong
to one of the categories listed in the Annex to this Convention.

Chapter II – Restitution Of Stolen Cultural Objects

Article 3

(1) The possessor of a cultural object which has been stolen
shall return it.

(2) For the purposes of this Convention, a cultural object which
has been unlawfully excavated or lawfully excavated but unlawfully
retained shall be considered stolen, when consistent with the law of the
State where the excavation took place.

(3) Any claim for restitution shall be brought within a period of
three years from the time when the claimant knew the location of the
cultural object and the identity of its possessor, and in any case within
a period of fifty years from the time of the theft.

(4) However, a claim for restitution of a cultural object forming
an integral part of an identified monument or archaeological site, or
belonging to a public collection, shall not be subject to time limitation
other than a period of three years from the time when the claimant knew
the locations of the cultural object and the identity of its possessor.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph,
any Contracting State may declare that a claim is subject to a time
limitation of 75 years or such longer period as is provided in its law. A
claim made in another Contracting State for restitution of a cultural
object displaced from a monument, archaeological site or public
collection in a Contracting State making such a declaration shall also be
subject to that time limitation.

(6) A declaration referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be
made at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession.

(7) For the purposes of this Convention, a “public collection”
consists of a group of inventoried or otherwise identified cultural
objects owned by:

(a) a Contracting State
(b) a regional or local authority of a Contracting State;
(c) a religious institution in a Contracting State; or
(d) an institution that is established for an essentially
cultural, educational or scientific purpose in a
Contracting State and is recognized in that State as
serving the public interest.

(8) In addition, a claim for restitution of a sacred or
communally important cultural object belonging to and used by a tribal or
indigenous community in a Contracting State as part of that community’s
traditional or ritual use, shall be subject to the time limitation
applicable to public collections.

Article 4

(1) The possessor of a stolen cultural object required to return
it shall be entitled, at the time of its restitution, to payment of fair
and reasonable compensation provided that the possessor neither knew nor
ought reasonably to have known that the object was stolen and can prove
that it exercised due diligence when acquiring the object.

(2) Without prejudice to the right of the possessor to
compensation referred to in the preceding paragraph, reasonable efforts
shall be made to have the person who transferred the cultural object to
the possessor, or any prior transferor, pay the compensation where to do
so would be consistent with the law of the State in which the claim is
brought.

(3) Payment of compensation to the possessor by the claimant,
when this is required, shall be without prejudice to the right of the
claimant to recover it from any other person.

(4) In determining whether the possessor exercised due diligence,
regard shall be had to all the circumstances of the acquisition,
including the character of the parties, the price paid, whether the
possessor consulted any reasonably accessible register of stolen cultural
objects, and any other relevant information and documentation which it
could reasonably have obtained, and whether the possessor consulted
accessible agencies or took any other step that a reasonable person would
have taken in the circumstances.

(5) The possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than
the person from whom it acquired the cultural object by inheritance or
otherwise gratuitously.

 

Chapter III – Return Of Illegally Exported Cultural Objects

Article 5

(1) A Contracting State may request the court or other competent
authority of another Contracting State to order the return of a cultural
object illegally exported from the territory of the requesting State.

(2) A cultural object which has been temporarily exported from
the territory of the requesting State, for purposes such as exhibition,
research or restoration, under a permit issued according to its law
regulating its export for the purpose of protecting its cultural heritage
and not returned in accordance with the terms of that permit shall be
deemed to have been illegally exported.

(3) The court or other competent authority of the State addressed
shall order the return of an illegally exported cultural object if the
requesting State establishes that the removal of the object from its
territory significantly impairs one or more of the following interests:

(a) the physical preservation of the object or its context;

(b) the integrity of a complex object;

(c) the preservation of information of, for example, a
scientific or historical character;

(d) the traditional or ritual use of the object by a tribal
or indigenous community,

or establishes that the object is of significant cultural importance for
the requesting State.

(4) Any request made under paragraph 1 of this article shall
contain or be accompanied by such information of a factual or legal
nature as may assist the court or other competent authority of the State
addressed in determining whether the requirements of paragraphs 1 to 3
have been met.

(5) Any request for return shall be brought within a period of
three years from the time when the requesting State knew the location of
the cultural object and the identity of its possessor, and in any case
within a period of fifty years from the date of the export or from the
date on which the object should have been returned under a permit
referred to in paragraph 2 of this article.

Article 6

(1) The possessor of a cultural object who acquired the object
after it was illegally exported shall be entitled, at the time of its
return, to payment by the requesting State of fair and reasonable
compensation, provided that the possessor neither knew nor ought
reasonably to have known at the time of acquisition that the object had
been illegally exported.

(2) In determining whether the possessor knew or ought reasonably
to have known that the cultural object had been illegally exported,
regard shall be had to the circumstances of the acquisition, including
the absence of an export certificate required under the law of the
requesting State.

(3) Instead of compensation, and in agreement with the requesting
State, the possessor required to return the cultural object to that
State, may decide:

(a) to retain ownership of the object; or

(b) to transfer ownership against payment or gratuitously
to a person of its choice residing in the requesting
State who provides the necessary guarantees.

(4) The cost of returning the cultural object in accordance with
this article shall be borne by the requesting State, without prejudice to
the right of that State to recover costs from any other person.

(5) The possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than
the person from whom it acquired the cultural object by inheritance or
otherwise gratuitously.

Article 7

(1) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply where:

(a) the export of a cultural object is no longer illegal at
the time at which the return is requested; or

(b) the object was exported during the lifetime of the
person who created it or within a period of fifty years
following the death of that person.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of the
preceding paragraph, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply where a
cultural object was made by a member or members of a tribal or indigenous
community for traditional or ritual use by that community and the object
will be returned to that community.

 

Author: international