International efforts to secure the return of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects: has Unidroit found a global situation ?

This note reviews recent international efforts to combat the rapidly expanding problem of illicit trade in cultural objects, and focuses on the latest international instrument developed with a view to curtailing this activity - namely, the draft Convention on the International Return of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. The draft Convention was prepared under the auspices of the Rome-based International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit). A diplomatic conference has been convened for June 1995, at which time governments will have an opportunity to consider, and perhaps adopt, Unidroit's draft. The impact of this latest multilateral effort will depend upon whether the diplomatic conference successfully adopts a convention, and if it does, what the final version of that instrument provides.