scholarly journals The Smuggling of Art, and the Art of Smuggling: Uncovering the Illicit Trade in Cultural Property and Antiques

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Fisman ◽  
Shang-Jin Wei
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Western Country ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Reporting Incentives ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

We empirically analyze the illicit trade in cultural property and antiques, taking advantage of different reporting incentives between source and destination countries. We generate a measure of illicit trafficking in these goods by comparing imports recorded in United States' customs data and the (purportedly identical) trade recorded by customs authorities in exporting countries. This reporting gap is highly correlated with corruption levels of exporting countries. This correlation is stronger for artifact-rich countries. As a placebo test, we do not observe any such pattern for US imports of toys. We report similar results for four other Western country markets. (JEL F14, K42, Z11, Z13)

Experiences of the Hungarian criminal jurisdiction concerning the illicit trafficking of cultural properties

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Kármán
Keyword(s):  
Significant Risk ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Criminal Records ◽  
Cultural Goods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Cultural Properties ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

Purpose The special purpose of this research was to identify the current features of illicit trade of cultural properties in Hungary and the procedures dealing with it. These offences pose a significant risk of damage to cultural property and have a strong link with organised crime. This relationship underlines the need for a criminal law approach worldwide in the field of the protection of cultural goods. Design/methodology/approach To explore the current situation in Hungary, an empirical research was conducted in 2018 with questionnaires designed to obtain data from the criminal records. To examine the phenomenon of “illicit trafficking”, the following types of crimes against cultural goods were selected: theft, dealing in stolen goods, robbery, budget fraud and criminal offences with protected cultural goods. Findings As a summary, it has to be stated that even though the number of the criminal procedure of these crimes in Hungary is low, it cannot be concluded that illicit trafficking of cultural goods in Hungary occurs only rarely. A specific characteristic of the phenomenon is high latency. To examine this phenomenon, the author has drawn up a list of indicators. Practical implications The aim of this project is to provide background information and materials for training programs. It is necessary to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. The role of the experts is outstanding in these cases; the clear definition of their tasks and competence is very important. Information to all “actors of this scene” (from the collector to the art dealers) can contribute to the prevention too. Originality/value This study presents the characteristics of the criminal procedures and the difficulties of both the detection and the evidentiary process to provide educational material for training. The author would like to raise awareness about the problem and draw attention to the need for unified legal practice.

scholarly journals Stolen Heritage Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in the EU and the MENA Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arianna Traviglia ◽  
Lucio Milano ◽  
Cristina Tonghini ◽  
Riccardo Giovanelli
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Archaeological Areas ◽  
Artistic Assets ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

It is a well-known fact that organized crime has developed into an international network that, spanning from the simple ‘grave diggers’ up to powerful and wealthy white-collar professionals, makes use of money laundering, fraud and forgery. This criminal chain, ultimately, damages and dissipates our cultural identity and, in some cases, even fosters terrorism or civil unrest through the illicit trafficking of cultural property.The forms of ‘possession’ of Cultural Heritage are often blurred; depending on the national legislation of reference, the ownership and trade of historical and artistic assets of value may be legitimate or not. Criminals have always exploited these ambiguities and managed to place on the Art and Antiquities market items resulting from destruction or looting of museums, monuments and archaeological areas. Thus, over the years, even the most renowned museum institutions have - more or less consciously - hosted in their showcases cultural objects of illicit origin. Looting, thefts, illicit trade, and clandestine exports are phenomena that affect especially those countries rich in historical and artistic assets. That includes Italy, which has seen its cultural heritage plundered over the centuries ending up in public and private collections worldwide.This edited volume features ten papers authored by international experts and professionals actively involved in Cultural Heritage protection. Drawing from the experience of the Conference Stolen Heritage (Venice, December 2019), held in the framework of the NETCHER project, the book focuses on illicit trafficking in Cultural Property under a multidisciplinary perspective.The articles look at this serious issue and at connected crimes delving into a variety of fields. The essays especially expand on European legislation regulating import, export, trade and restitution of cultural objects; conflict antiquities and cultural heritage at risk in the Near and Middle East; looting activities and illicit excavations in Italy; the use of technologies to counter looting practices.The volume closes with two papers specifically dedicated to the thorny ethical issues arising from the publication of unprovenanced archaeological objects, and the relevance of accurate communication and openness about such topics.

Cultural Property Protection in the Light of the New Law of FRG 2016

2016 ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
V. Soloshenko
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Private Ownership ◽  
German Government ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

Preparations for the adoption of the new Law on Cultural Values Protection, its discussion and debates, that seriously puzzled the German Government, and also caused acute criticism from the representatives of the world of art are analyzed. Attention is focused on approaches to the important and quite complex in this regard issue concerning preservation of illegal movement of cultural objects that belong to the cultural heritage of the state. The main purpose of the bill is to enhance the protection of cultural property and effectively combat the illicit trafficking of them. The intentions of the Federal Government to integrate pre-existing laws in the field of cultural values into one law are very important. The main principles of the law in the new edition are protection from being sold overseas collections of state museums, including exhibits from private ownership that are in museums temporarily. It is highlighted that under current legislation, in each federal state of art and other cultural treasures, including libraries, must be entered in the register of national cultural values. These items have privileges in taxation, their export outside Germany requires special permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Germany, which can be stipulated for a number of restrictions and reservations. In the article it is underlined that he XXI century has set new challenges and tasks for German scientists that require operational, but balanced approach in their solution.

Does Party Trump Ideology? Disentangling Party and Ideology in America

2018 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL BARBER ◽  
JEREMY C. POPE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Research Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Group Loyalty ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Party Attachment ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Liberal Policy ◽  
Standing Question ◽  
Over Time

Are people conservative (liberal) because they are Republicans (Democrats)? Or is it the reverse: people are Republicans (Democrats) because they are conservatives (liberals)? Though much has been said about this long-standing question, it is difficult to test because the concepts are nearly impossible to disentangle in modern America. Ideology and partisanship are highly correlated, only growing more so over time. However, the election of President Trump presents a unique opportunity to disentangle party attachment from ideological commitment. Using a research design that employs actual “conservative” and “liberal” policy statements from President Trump, we find that low-knowledge respondents, strong Republicans, Trump-approving respondents, and self-described conservatives are the most likely to behave like party loyalists by accepting the Trump cue—in either a liberal or conservative direction. These results suggest that there are a large number of party loyalists in the United States, that their claims to being a self-defined conservative are suspect, and that group loyalty is the stronger motivator of opinion than are any ideological principles.

Rescue or Return: The Fate of the Iraqi Jewish Archive

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce P. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
World War ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Jewish Diaspora ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Invasion Of Iraq

AbstractShortly following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, an American mobile exploitation team was diverted from its mission in hunting for weapons for mass destruction to search for an ancient Talmud in the basement of Saddam Hussein's secret police (Mukhabarat) headquarters in Baghdad. Instead of finding the ancient holy book, the soldiers rescued from the basement flooded with several feet of fetid water an invaluable archive of disparate individual and communal documents and books relating to one of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world. The seizure of Jewish cultural materials by the Mukhabarat recalled similar looting by the Nazis during World War II. The materials were spirited out of Iraq to the United States with a vague assurance of their return after being restored. Several years after their arrival in the United States for conservation, the Iraqi Jewish archive has become contested cultural property between Jewish groups and the Iraqi Jewish diaspora on the one hand and Iraqi cultural officials on the other. This article argues that the archive comprises the cultural property and heritage of the Iraqi Jewish diaspora.

Documenting whose heritage? The problem of point of view in documenting American cultural property

1990 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Deirdre C. Stam
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Made In

In the United States, as elsewhere, cultural history represents, and is itself shaped by, many points of view. The existence of differing views of cultural history is reflected, in the United States, by the variety and independence of cultural institutions. Such a diversity of approaches does not facilitate the development of a nation-wide overview or of a national databank or national methodologies; however, progress is now being made in terms of cooperation and coordination, especially through the development and acceptance of standards which make different data systems compatible with one another.

Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property: The Multifaceted Response to a Complex Challenge

Global Jurist ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Letizia Casertano
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Security Systems ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

Abstract In recent years the phenomenon of the illicit trafficking in cultural assets has been addressed by international and European lawmakers as an important phenomenon within the complex criminal networks used for the financing of international terrorism. The factors that contribute most to its development include in particular the availability of advanced technologies for plundering archaeological sites and e-commerce, which has sped up trade by breaking down space-time barriers, along also with armed conflict, political instability and poverty. In order to bring about change and put an end to the phenomenon, some significant legislative choices have recently been implemented in the European Union. The aim is to create a regime that is as uniform as possible along with a network of standardised controls capable of intercepting illicit trafficking. The concerns of art market operators surrounding the introduction of new rules and regulations can be appreciated if it is considered that the vibrant lawful market of artworks operates in accordance with tried and tested arrangements. This article will seek to provide an account of the phenomenon in its full complexity, highlighting the most significant recent developments within the European Union. It will also discuss the role of information and digital technologies in the area of cultural heritage. In particular, the existing European legal framework represented by the main legal instruments adopted by the international community and by the European Union will be sketched out, including both civil law and criminal law responses to the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. Within this context the importance of the issues of traceability within art transactions, which are mostly paper-based, will be investigated along with other related issues such as digital tracking of artworks (digital passports), art security systems and authentication technologies.

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