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State Immunity, Property Rights, and Cultural Objects on Loan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2015

Alessandro Chechi
Alessandro Chechi*
Affiliation:
Art-Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Email: alessandro.chechi@unige.ch
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Abstract:

In the art field the centuries-old concepts of property and state immunity are interwoven in an ambivalent relationship. Immunity rules may constitute a shield for the works of art that have been temporarily sent abroad for exhibition purposes. The obverse of the same coin is that the same rules may thwart the legal actions filed by individuals against foreign states to retrieve art objects lost in the past as a result or in connection with grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law. This article examines this conundrum and argues that the relationship between property rights and immunity rules should be reconceptualised and aligned with the values and priorities of the international community, such as the protection of human rights, the reparation of massive and violent crimes and the respect for cultural heritage.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 22 , Issue 2-3 , August 2015 , pp. 279 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © International Cultural Property Society 2015 

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