1995 UNIDROIT Convention (stolen or illegally exported cultural objects)
The private law convention that requires the possessor of a stolen cultural object to return it, even in good faith, granting fair compensation if it proves due diligence at acquisition.
In many national laws, a good faith buyer of movable property becomes its owner, or can invoke a short limitation period against the robbed owner. The UNIDROIT Convention reverses this logic for cultural objects: the possessor of a stolen object must return it, whatever its good faith, within long time limits. It is entitled to fair compensation only if it proves it exercised due diligence at purchase, considering the circumstances, the price paid, consultation of stolen object registers and available information. The convention also deals with the return of illegally exported objects at the request of the state of origin. It has been ratified by a limited number of states, and several major market countries do not apply it, but it set a due diligence standard that courts and insurers use to assess a buyer's conduct.
Signed in Rome on June 24, 1995, the convention provides that a collector who bought a stolen cultural object, without checking any register and at an abnormally low price, must return it without compensation, since due diligence is not established.
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