Preventing Trafficking in Cultural Property: Import and Export Provisions as Two Sides of the Same Coin

This article analyses the recent developments on the international, regional, and national level in preventing the trafficking in movable cultural property. The analysis starts by looking at the legal framework provided by the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the necessity of the Convention’s implementation into national law. It then focuses on the 2016 law reform in Germany implementing the 1970 UNESCO Convention as well as Directive 2014/60/EU. Whereas most States have adopted national export provisions protecting their own national cultural property, only a few States – like Canada and Germany – provide for general import provisions. Against the backdrop of the UN Security Council Resolution 2347 (2017)  nd the 2019 EU Import Regulation, the article illustrates that import and export provisions are two sides of the same coin in terms of preventing trafficking in cultural property.