As the demand in the art market for cultural objects and the political instability in many countries continue, the smuggling of cultural property persists. All art rich countries, not just developing countries, are affected by the illicit trafficking in cultural property. The International Council of Museums has long been involved actively in the fight against this illicit trade. Still, while most museum professionals condemn the illicit trade in art and antiquities, some museum officials continue to retain within their collections objects that were either illegally exported or actually stolen from the country of origin or from individual owners, Holocaust looted art being an example. The purpose of this paper is to set out the general laws and the ethical concepts that should mandate the return/restitution of illegally and/or stolen cultural property but also to serve as a call to action to members of ICOM to initiate some form of dispute resolution to resolve difficult
return/restitution issues.
