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Comparative and Foreign Law

Brooklyn Law School

Cultural Property

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Retroactivity In The 1970 Unesco Convention: Cases Of The United States And Australia, Katarzyna Januszkiewicz Jan 2015

Retroactivity In The 1970 Unesco Convention: Cases Of The United States And Australia, Katarzyna Januszkiewicz

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As the current trend of returning looted artifacts to their countries of origin continues to grow, the need for stricter law enforcement and a reevaluation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and its application has become apparent. Recently, museums and national governments worldwide have engaged in a repatriation dialogue through mutual cooperation with foreign institutions, rather than international litigation, which is both a long and expensive process. This is a result of both a shifting public opinion towards museums, and the growing awareness of the countries of origin regarding the value of their looted cultural heritage. Looted artifacts continue to flood …


Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: The United Nations Declaration Of The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples Fails To Protect Hopi Katsinam From The Auction Block In France, Samantha K. Nikic Jan 2015

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: The United Nations Declaration Of The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples Fails To Protect Hopi Katsinam From The Auction Block In France, Samantha K. Nikic

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) compels member states to take action in order to protect the rights of the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples, including the right to their cultural property. Notwithstanding the UNDRIP’s robust set of protections, its status as a nonbinding piece of international law remains its ultimate and most fatal flaw. France was an enthusiastic supporter of the UNDRIP at ratification, but has effectively abandoned their position. French auction houses and courts have allowed for sales of Native American sacred property to proceed despite the objections of the Hopi Tribe. In …