Guides: Art Law Research Guide: Foreign Law & Treaties

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Introduction

This page provides information about a few select sources for researching foreign and international art law. We also have a series of research guides on foreign, international, and comparative law, including on specific topics, countries, or regions, including guides on treaties, U.N. research, and researching foreign (non-U.S.) law generally (e.g. for where a specific country/region is not addressed in its own guide).

Members of the Georgetown community should contact our Foreign & International Librarians for further guidance.

Foreign Laws

UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization works to protect arts and culture. This database contains the national laws currently in force of Member States on natural and cultural heritage (e.g., monuments, paintings, shipwrecks, natural sites). English translations available for many, but not all laws.
International Foundation for Art Research: International Cultural Property/Ownership & Export Legislation (ICPOEL)
The IFAR website provides information on laws on export and ownership of cultural property from many countries (in original language and translated). Georgetown Law does not currently have a subscription.

Select Art and Cultural Property Law Treaties and Agreements

In addition to the general resources for locating treaties and agreements, the following sources may be useful for obtaining the text of treaties and agreements related to art and cultural property:

UNESCO Legal Instruments (Culture)
Text of UNESCO conventions, recommendations, and declarations regarding cultural property.
U.S. Department of State, Cultural Heritage Center
The Cultural Heritage Center administers the responsibilities of the United States under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. This site contains bilateral agreements between the United States and other countries establishing import restrictions.
International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)
This site contains laws on export and ownership of cultural property from many countries (in original language and translated). For each country, it also includes links to some bilateral agreements and certain international conventions and states whether the country is a party to the convention and when the convention entered into force in that country. Georgetown Law currently does not have a subscription to this resource.

Multilateral Treaties

The following is a select list of multilateral treaties related to art and cultural property. Additional treaties and agreements are listed in Cultural Property: A Legal Research Guide (2012).

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (WIPO)
The Berne Convention, adopted in 1886, deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors. It provides creators such as authors, musicians, poets, painters etc. with the means to control how their works are used, by whom, and on what terms. It is based on three basic principles and contains a series of provisions determining the minimum protection to be granted, as well as special provisions available to developing countries that want to make use of them.
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague Convention), May 14, 1954, 249 U.N.T.S. 240.
This convention was adopted at The Hague after World War II resulted in the mass destruction of cultural property and heritage. Over 100 countries are party to the convention, which prescribes measure to be taken to avoid the destruction of works of art and other types of cultural heritage during war and peace. The United States became a party to this convention on March 13, 2009.
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, Nov. 14, 1970, 823 U.N.T.S. 231.
This UNESCO convention concerns, among other things, "property of artistic interest." In addition to establishing mechanisms to prevent the illicit import and export of cultural property, members of this convention agree to develop and establish institutions to preserve cultural property, provide an education on the need to respect cultural heritage of all countries, and make sure that disappearing property is publicized. The convention entered into force in the United States on December 2, 1983.
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Nov. 23, 1972, 27 U.S.T. 37, 1037 U.N.T.S. 151.
The most well-known outcome of this UNESCO convention is the creation of the World Heritage List, places of "outstanding value to humanity" that are protected under this convention. The convention entered into force in the United States on December 17, 1975.
Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, June 24, 1995, 2421 U.N.T.S. 457, 34 I.L.M. 1322.
This UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) convention provides for the return of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects if the removal of the object "significantly impairs" certain interests of the country from which it originated or if the object is "of significant cultural importance." The United States is not a party to this convention.
Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, Nov. 2, 2001, 41 I.L.M. 40.
This UNESCO convention "sets out basic principles for the protection of underwater cultural heritage; provides a detailed State cooperation system; and provides widely recognized practical Rules for the treatment and research of underwater cultural heritage." The United States is not a party to this convention.
Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Oct. 17, 2003, 2368 U.N.T.S. 3.
This UNESCO convention protects intangible cultural heritage, which is defined in Article 2 as "the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills--as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith--that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage." The United States is not a party to this convention.
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diverse Cultural Expressions, Oct. 20, 2005, 45 I.L.M. 269.
This UNESCO convention seeks to "reaffirm the sovereign right of States to draw up cultural policies; recognize the specific nature of cultural goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning; [and] strengthen international cooperation and solidarity with a view to favouring the cultural expressions of all countries." The United States is not a party to this convention.

Art Law Research Guide

Contents

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Introduction

Foreign Laws

Select Art and Cultural Property Law Treaties and Agreements

Multilateral Treaties