I am pleased to announce that my PhD thesis has been completed, successfully defended, corrected and printed. It's titled "Preventing and Repairing These Losses: The Legal Response of the United States and the United Kingdom to the Illicit Trade in Cultural Property". I think I should have perhaps chosen a more succinct title.
It feels great to be finished, and it was a lot of hard work with some tough decisions, but it wouldn't have been possible without a lot of help and support from my colleagues here in Aberdeen and Joni (aka "my funder"). I'm sorry to say much of that support was undermined by our French Spaniel and serial abuser pictured here.
I've included the table of contents below. I'm still not sure if I want to try and publish it, which would mean a lot more work, and I suppose part of that will depend on where I land in the coming months. I started this little blog as a way to stay productive, even when I couldn't quite get things going on the thesis. I've found it invaluable, and for anyone who writes I think a blog is a great way to keep in the habit of writing.
I'm not sure where we will end up at this point, I plan to continue research into cultural heritage issues, or at least a related field which will allow me to continue the work I've been doing. I had what I thought was a good shot at a couple of postdoctoral funding opportunities which would have allowed me to look in some real depth at repatriation, but unfortunately those fell through. On a happier note I am involved with a really exciting project with some people which will create a really great cultural heritage resource, which I'll talk about in much more depth here in the coming months.
Posting will likely be very light for the next few weeks, as we're heading back to the States to catch up with family and friends.
Chapter 1: Introduction
I. The Aims
II. Foundational Issues and Terminology
A. Illicit Cultural Property
B. Source and Market Nations
C. Provenance
III. The Nature and Extent of the Illicit Trade
A. Art
B. Antiquities
IV. Laying the Theoretical Framework
A. Values Inherent in Cultural Property Policy
1. Preserving the Object
2. Preserving Archaeological Context
3. Preserving the National Patrimony
4. International Movement
5. Accessibility
B. Cultural Heritage or Cultural Property?
C. How Sympathetic Facts Distort Cultural Property Law
V. The Scope of this Work
Chapter 2: Regulating Cultural Property at the Source
I. Introduction: How to Prevent the Illicit Trade at Its Source?
II. Regulation in Source Nations
A. The Typical Approach: Guatemala
B. Other Examples
1. Peru
2. Mexico
3. Nigeria
C. China
D. Italy
E. Cultural Property Strategies in Developing Nations
1. Nationalizing Cultural Property
2. Efficacy of Export Restrictions
3. What can a Source Nation do when an Object has been Exported?
4. Combating the Illicit Trade v. Bare Retentionism
III. Domestic Regulation of Cultural Property in Market States
A. Domestic Regulation in the United States
1. Initial Federal Efforts
2. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979
3. The National Historic Preservation Act
4. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
5. The Law of Finds
B. Domestic Regulation in the United Kingdom
1. Scheduled Ancient Monuments
2. Treasure Trove and the Portable Antiquities Scheme
3. Scotland
4. Limited Export Restrictions: The Waverley Criteria
IV. Summary: What are the Key Components to Effective Domestic Regulation?
Chapter 3: Public International Law and Cultural Property
I. Introduction: Public International Law and Cultural Property
A. Origins of the Protection of Cultural Property
II. Attempts to Forge a Workable International Framework
A. 1954 Hague Convention
1. Defining Cultural Property in the Convention
2. Shortcomings of the Convention
3. The First Protocol
4. The Second Protocol
III. The 1970 UNESCO Convention
A. Individual Articles
1. Problems with Interpretation: Articles 3 and 6
2. The “Heart” of the Convention: Article 7
3. Defining the Scope of Protection
B. Impact of the Convention
C. Implementation and Bilateral Agreements
1. Implementation of the UNESCO Convention in the US
2. Switzerland
3. Implementation in the UK
IV. A Case for the Reform of UNESCO
A. The Perceived Bias in UNESCO Undermines its Efforts
B. The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention
C. The 2001 UNESCO Convention For the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
V. Summary
Chapter 4: Conflict of Laws in Cultural Property Disputes
I. Introduction: The Problem When the Claims of Two Relative Innocents Collide
II. Manifestations of the Conflict
A. Entrustment v. Theft or Wrongful Dispossession
B. When the Conflict Involves Statutes of Limitations
C. When Tort Rules Conflict
D. When Movable Property Rules Conflict
E. The Consequences of the Choice of Law Challenge in Art and Antiquities Litigation
III. The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention
A. What UNIDROIT Got Right
1. Compensation for the Diligent
2. Highlighting Due Diligence
3. Limited Right of Return
B. Two Weaknesses Prohibit Widespread Implementation
IV. The General Choice of Law Inquiry and Alternatives
A. The General Rule: Lex Rei Sitae
B. Renvoi
C. Lex Originis
V. Summary
Chapter 5: Market Regulation of Cultural Property in the UK
I. Introduction
II. Recent Reform in the UK
A. The Select Committee Inquiry
B. The Illicit Trade Advisory Panel
C. After Five Years, What Result?
III. UK Restrictions on the International Movement of Cultural Property
A. Customs Powers
B. EU Legislation Governing Cultural Property
C. Accession to the 1970 UNESCO Convention
D. Public Laws of Foreign States
1. Nationalization and Export Restrictions
2. Stigmatizing Illegally Exported Objects
3. The Recent Iranian Claims: Unpacking Public Laws and Unclear Nationalization
4. Why Not Enforce Public Laws?
IV. The Treatment of Cultural Property in the Law of England and Wales
A. Criminal Law
1. Theft Act (1968)
2. Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003
B. Private Litigation
1. Contract
2. Tort
3. Restitution
4. Limitations Rules
V. The Scots Law Treatment of Cultural Property
A. Criminal Law
1. Common Law Theft
2. Reset and Criminal Activity Outside the UK
3. The Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill
B. Private Claims
1. Ownership and Possession
2. Restitution
3. Spuilzie
4. How Might Restitution and Spuilzie Apply
5. Contract and Delict
6. Limitations Periods
VI. Summary
Chapter 6: Market Regulation of Cultural Property in the United States
I. Introduction
II. Federal Criminal Regulation
A. National Stolen Property Act Prosecutions under the McClain Doctrine
1. The McClain Cases
2. United States v. Schultz
B. Federal Criminal Forfeitures
1. A History of Forfeiture
2. The Litigation Surrounding Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally
3. One Oil Painting Entitled Femme En Blanc by Pablo Picasso
C. US Customs Regulations
D. The Cultural Property Implementation Act
III. Civil Remedies
A. The Substantive Claims
B. Limitations Rules
1. Adverse Possession
2. Demand and Refusal
3. The Discovery Rule
4. Laches
C. Cultural Property and the UCC
IV. Summary
Chapter 7: In Conclusion: A Way Forward
I. In Summary
Appendix I: The 1970 UNESCO Convention
Appendix II: 1995 UNIDROIT Convention
Appendix III: The Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003
Appendix IV: The National Stolen Property Act
Appendix V: The Cultural Property Implementation Act
Bibliography
Cases Cited
Table of Legislation