IS THERE A LEGAL BASIS FOR CULTURAL NATIONALISM IN THE RETURN OF CULTURAL PROPERTY? MULTILATERAL INSTRUMENTS VERSUS BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
IS THERE A LEGAL BASIS FOR CULTURAL NATIONALISM IN THE RETURN OF CULTURAL PROPERTY? MULTILATERAL INSTRUMENTS VERSUS BILATERAL AGREEMENTS

Summary/Abstract: This article traces the emerging norms of legal obligation under international law to returnthe looted property taken during the colonial period. Return requests are among the primarydemands of decolonised states, who bring the issue to international forums. This obligationhas been incrementally recognised and further developed in several multilateral instrumentsadopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), the United Nations(UN), and states, along with non-state actors adopting provisions to criminalise the theft ofcultural property and to ensure its return as part of available remedies. In parallel with thedevelopment of this obligation under international law, the international community hasincreasingly engaged in bilateral agreements for the return of cultural property. India andthe USA, for instance, concluded a Cultural Property Agreement in July 2024. Among severaladvances and efforts to address existing gaps, the Human Rights Council adopted resolutionsin 2018 and 2025 which, while recognising the human rights dimension of cultural rights,further strengthened the multilateral approach to enhanced cooperation for the restoration ofstolen, looted, or trafficked cultural property to its country of origin.

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