Art, Cultural Heritage & Law: Organizations & Their Tools

International Membership Association: International Council of Museums (ICOM)

• States it "promotes the exchange of expertise and knowledge in the museums and heritage field on an international level."
• Publishes ICOM Red Lists of Cultural Objects at Risk ("inventoried objects within the collections of recognised institutions" that could be subject to theft/trafficking) + provides Red Lists Database.
• With publisher Taylor and Francis, provides a list of issues/recent articles in ICOM's peer-reviewed journal: Museum International.
  • Taylor & Francis provides some open access articles.
  • NYPL provides a number of years of Museum International [1997- present?] through a digital subscription available for on-site use at NYPL's Library for the Performing Arts, Schomburg Center & Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

United Kingdom: The Institute of Art & Law

• States it "offers knowledge and training in all aspects of the law relating to art and cultural heritage."

• Provides Latest IAL News.

• Provides a free search feature for articles published in Art, Antiquity and Law (a quarterly journal). 

  • BLS Library has: an active print subscription to Art, Antiquity and Law (Call #: K1 .R76, Location: Int'l., Cellar Level); a digital subscription w/ a 1-year embargo in Gale Academic OneFile; and a digital subscription w/ a 3-year embargo in HeinOnline. 

• Offers distance learning, seminar-based and in-house courses.

United States (Brooklyn-based): Center for Art Law

• States it is "a nonprofit organization that conducts research and offers resources and programming for the advancement of a vibrant arts community."

• Describes/links to application instructions for internships and graduate fellowships at the Center for Art Law's DUMBO office in Brooklyn, NY.  This Center states: "priority may be given to applications received early." 

  • Highlights the Judith Bresler Fellowship (paid) for recent law school graduates.  Deadline for Academic Year 2024-2025 Judith Bresler Fellowship applications was: May 1, 2024. 

• Provides a free monthly art law newsletter to which researchers can subscribe.  Highlights art law news/publications, art law events in New York (and in other places), and art law jobs that are taking applications.

• BLS Library initiated a new institutional subscription to materials from this Center, including: an extensive library of this Center's blog posts; recordings and materials/handouts from many of this Center's past events; and access to a redesigned Case Law Corner (which tracks "lawsuits involving artworks, cultural property, artists’ estates, galleries" and more topics). 

United States (New York): Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

• States it "is the leading legal aid and education organization dedicated to New York artists and its arts and cultural organizations."
• Offers Legal Fellowships (unpaid) to recent law school graduates and deferred associates; Legal Internships (unpaid) to current law students; and Summer Associate positions (unpaid).
• Deeply discounts its programs, workshops and on-demand recordings for students.  See its events calendar.  Examples:
  • Program: Basic Legal Guide for Visual Artists with Q&A (July 10, 2024) - cost was $25 for a full-time student.
  • On-demand video: Copyright and Trademark Considerations for Using Generative AI Technology - $5 for a full-time student.

International: International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), Cultural Heritage Crime

• Provides the overview: The issues - cultural property.

• Maintains the International Stolen Works of Art Database.  INTERPOL states: "Anyone can apply to become an authorized user of the database, to check in real-time if an item is among the registered objects, using our Application form."

Italy: Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale/ Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC)

• TIP: Click: Italian flag (top right) > click: British flag.  Provides an English-language description of TPC's protection and safeguarding tasks. 
• Supports free searching "for an asset among a selection of stolen or illegally exported works, contained in [TPC's] computer archive."
• Publishes free: Comunicati Stampa e News + Attività Operativa 2023.

United States: U.S. Dep't. of Homeland Security > U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Cultural Property, Art & Antiquities (CPAA) Investigations

• States: "U.S. federal customs laws regarding smuggling and trafficking provide Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agents the unique authority, jurisdiction, and responsibility to lead criminal investigations and support prosecutions involving the illicit importation and distribution of stolen or looted cultural property."
• Links to What We Investigate: Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities Smuggling.
• Describes ICE cultural heritage repatriations.

United States: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Art Crime

• States that the FBI's Art Crime Team:
  • "Address[es] art and cultural property crime cases in assigned geographic regions."
  • "Assist[s] in art-related investigations worldwide in cooperation with foreign law enforcement officials and FBI legal attaché offices."
• Maintains the National Stolen Art File, which the FBI describes as "an online database of stolen art and cultural property."
• Provides Art Crime News + descriptions of FBI Top Ten Art Crimes here.

Additional, widely-used tools:

United Kingdom (London): Art Loss Register + The Watch Register

• Law enforcement agencies and government organizations can use the Art Loss Register of 700,000+ stolen or missing items without charge.  Clients such as auction houses, lawyers and private collectors pay fees to search this Register.  See FAQs.
• Also provides The Watch Register, which this website states is "the leading global database of lost and stolen watches."

International: UNESCO > Culture

• Highlights 46th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, which will occur July 21-31, 2024.
  • This Committee's website states it "will examine the proposals of 27 sites for inscription on the World Heritage List, and the state of conservation of 124 sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List, and on the List of World Heritage in Danger." 
  • See also: Reporting and Monitoring on implementing the World Heritage Convention.
• Highlights UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies - MONDIACULT 2025, which will occur Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.  Production of Conference Proceedings will occur in Dec. 2025. 
• Publishes World Heritage (quarterly review), which "features in-depth articles on cultural and natural World Heritage sites."
• Provides nearly 14,000 Open Access resources in UNESDOC Digital Library. 
  • Researchers can filter sources by topic, such as: Cultural heritage; Intangible cultural heritage; or Cultural property preservation.  Click: See all to view all topics.  Includes unique documentary heritage and preservation sources, such as:

• Provides resource manuals & toolkits pertaining to the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, including these recent publications:

International: UNIDROIT > Cultural Property

• Link 1995 Convention provides: text of 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects; explanatory report and follow up on this 1995 Convention; list of state parties to the 1995 Convention; and a Select Bibliography on cultural property.
  • Select Bibliography highlights: Conferences and Seminars [on cultural property]: Current Year.