ABSTRACT
Efforts by nations to protect national cultural patrimonies from loss of significant heritage rely importantly on control of its export. Such controls, dating from as early as 1464, are also instrumental in deterring and responding to illegal trafficking in cultural material. For example, parties to the 1970 UNESCO Convention against illegal trafficking are obligated to apply a global system of export certification to govern the import of a broad range of cultural material listed in the agreement. Parties may, however, enter a reservation to that obligation as the United States has done. This reflects the practice of some legal systems, particularly common-law ones, to deny the recognition or enforcement of foreign regulatory laws. Controls on the export of “national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value” are an explicit exception to the free-trade requirements of international trade law, as expressed in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). National controls vary in scope from blanket prohibitions on the export of all heritage of a certain age or other classification, without even the possibility of an official permit, to prohibitions on only well-defined material of great cultural importance such as Japan’s “national treasures.” Among the Commonwealth countries, the “Waverley criteria” enable local bidding to match the value of prospective exports in order to retain important cultural material within the country. The United States is the only major country with no specific export controls, but other legislation in effect deters the export of some cultural material, particularly that of Indigenous peoples. Case studies involving export controls are available.
