Model Treaty for the Prevention of Crimes that Infringe on the Cultural Heritage of Peoples in the
Form of Movable Property
Articles: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Adopted by the Eighth Crime Congress
and welcomed by the General Assembly in resolution 45/121 ARTICLE 1 Scope of application and definition - For the purposes of this Treaty, movable cultural property shall be
understood as referring to property which, on religious or secular grounds, is specifically designated by a State Party as being subject to export control by reason of its importance for archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science, and as belonging to one or more of the following categories:
a) Rare collections and specimens of fauna, flora, minerals and anatomy, and objects of pale ontological interest;
b) Property relating to history, including the history of science
and technology, military history, and the history of societies and religions, as well as to the lives of leaders, thinkers, scientists and artists, and to events of national importance;
c) Products of archaeological excavations or discoveries, including clandestine excavations or discoveries, whether on land or under water;
d) Elements of artistic or historical monuments or archaeological sites which have been dismantled;
e) Antiquities, including tools, ceramics, ornaments,
musical instruments, pottery, inscriptions, coins, engraved seals, jewels, weapons and funerary remains;
f) Materials of anthropological, historical or ethnological interest;
g) Property of artistic interest, including paintings, statues, prints and assemblages;
h) Rare manuscripts and incunabula, old books, documents and publications of special interest;
i) Postage and revenue stamps;
j) Phonographic, photographic and cinematographic archives;
k) Articles of furniture and musical instruments of more than 100 years of age. - This Treaty applies to movable cultural property stolen in or illicitly exported from the other State Party after the coming into force of the Treaty.
ARTICLE 2 General principles - Each State Party undertakes:
a) To take
necessary measures to prohibit the import and export of movable cultural property (i) which has been stolen in the other State Party or (ii) which has been illicitly exported from the other State Party;
b) To take the necessary measures to prohibit the acquisition of, and dealing within its territory with, movable cultural property which has been imported contrary to the above prohibitions;
c) To legislate to prevent persons and institutions within its territory from entering into
international conspiracies with respect to movable cultural property;
d) To provide information concerning stolen movable cultural property to an international data base agreed upon between the States Parties;
e) To take measures to ensure that the purchaser of stolen movable cultural property which is listed on the international data base is not considered to have purchased such property in good faith;
f) To introduce a system whereby the export of movable cultural property is
authorized by issue of an export certificate;
g) To use all means, including the fostering of public awareness, to combat illicit import and export, theft, illicit excavations and illicit dealing in movable cultural property. - Each State undertakes to take the necessary measures to recover and return, at the request of the other State Party, any movable cultural property which is covered in subparagraph a) above.
ARTICLE 3 Sanctions Each State Party undertakes to impose sanctions upon:a) Persons or institutions responsible for illicit import or export of movable cultural property;
b) Persons or institutions that knowingly acquire or deal in stolenor illicitly imported movable cultural property;
c) Persons or institutions that enter into international conspiracies to obtain,
export or import movable cultural property by illicit means.
ARTICLE 4 Procedures - Requests for recovery and return shall be made through diplomatic channels.
- All expenses incidental to the return and delivery of the movable cultural property shall be borne by the requesting State Party, and no persons or
institution shall be entitled to claim any form of compensation from the State Party returning the property claimed. Neither shall the requesting State Party be required to compensate in any way such persons or institutions as may have participated in illegally sending abroad the property in question, although it must pay fair compensation to any person or institution that in good faith acquired or was in legal possession of the property.
- Both parties agree not to levy any customs or
other duties on such movable property as may be discovered and returned in accord with the present Treaty.
- The State Parties agree to make available to each other information to assist in combating crimes against movable cultural property.
- Each State Party shall provide information concerning laws which protect its movable cultural property to an international data base agreed upon between the States Parties.
ARTICLE 5 Final provisions - This Treaty is subject to (ratification, acceptance or approval).
- This Treaty shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the instruments of (ratification, acceptance or approval) are exchanged.
- Either State Party may denounce this Treaty by giving notice in writing to the other State Party. Such denunciation shall
take effect six months following the date on which notice is received by the other State Party.
- This treaty is intended to be complementary to, and does not in anyway exclude, participation in other international arrangements.
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