International Turnover of Art Works as Cultural Values: Legal Aspects

This graduate paper aims to examine the international art trade of art works with cultural heritage (Hereinafter «Art works»), its regulation on national and international levels and ways to resolve conflicts of law in contract dealings with Art works. The main objectives of the paper are: (a) to define the concept of Art works and its significance; (b) to analyze the unique features of trade (such as contract of sale and auction sale) of Art works and vindication against a purchaser; (c) to study methods to combat theft and illegal exportation of Art works. Based on this research the following conclusions were made: firstly, there is no standard legal definition for cultural heritage, therefore, for Art works as well in terms of international private law; secondly, auction sales are very important for Art works trade, however, quite frequently stolen Art works are traded on the market, which leads to vindication law suits against buon fide purchaser. It’s common for Art works to travel internationally prior to the sale, which raises a question of applicable law and the status of purchaser in a given disputable situation. None of existing conventions fix provisions on applicable law, although, courts are likely to use lex rei sitae. Thirdly, today there are private and public organizations that search for stolen and lost works of Art. Many special police departments that work only with crimes against art were established after 1970 UNESCO Convention. The established police authorities provide essential aid for international cooperation in this field. Fourthly, there are many gaps in legal regulation of the turnover of Art works. Conventions and agreements only direct the policy of the governments and to resolve the conflict of law, parties must address the national law of each country, which complicates the international trade of Art works.