Chapter 4 - Abstract and author bios

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4. Implementation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention by the United States and Other Market Nations

Patty Gerstenblith

Drawing on 45 years of experience, this chapter compares the different methods of implementation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention adopted by the various market nations. The United States and Switzerland implement the Convention through bilateral agreements with countries of origin; these agreements are highly effective for those particular States Parties. Australia and Canada adopted across-the-board import restrictions on illegally exported cultural objects, while the German and Japanese systems are not suitable for preventing trade in recently looted archaeological materials. In all cases, import restrictions are only as effective as their enforcement, which in many cases should be strengthened.

Patty Gerstenblith is distinguished research professor of law at DePaul University College of Law. She is secretary of the US Committee of the Blue Shield and was formerly president of the Lawyers Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Cultural Property. In 2011, President Obama appointed her chair of the President’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee in the US Department of State. Her publications include the casebook Art, Cultural Heritage and the Law. Gerstenblith received her AB from Bryn Mawr College, PhD in art history and anthropology from Harvard University, and JD from Northwestern University.