The International Legal Regime of Cultural Property: New Solutions and New Actors

This research proposal concerns the international legal regime for the protection of cultural heritage. It focuses on the circulation of cultural property across borders and the challenges connected to it, such as the illicit trafficking and destruction of objects pertaining to that category. International Law evolved considerably in this field, through the adoption of legal instruments, general principles and customary rules. The importance of interstate cooperation and return or restitution of stolen or illicitly exported cultural objects is nowadays widely recognized. Indeed, many cases involving disputes over the ownership and the restitution of cultural property have emerged in recent decades. There are notable examples of innovative solutions given to disputes of this kind. Meanwhile, non-state actors’ greater relevance in the international arena is another phenomenon which may have far-reaching consequences for the international legal regime of cultural property. These two trends, which in some aspects are correlated, will be further analyzed in this research, as they may provide interesting insights into how some of the enduring challenges regarding the protection and circulation of cultural property can be tackled.