A new world order for cultural property: addressing the failure of international and domestic regulation of the international art market

While beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, works of art have caught the eye of many a beholder across the globe; those pieces of art, in fact, command a heavy monetary price from such admirers. Since the beginning of exploration and colonial conquest, and probably before that, humans have been fascinated with the collection and display of works of art.

The creation and appreciation of art is one of the many ways in which human beings have distinguished themselves from their less developed cousins in the animal kingdom, but one peculiar aspect of human society certainly pervades the world of art collection: humans are willing to pay a very high economic price to collect and maintain works of art. In fact, the societal cost of collecting and maintaining art is greater than the salient monetary cost imposed upon purchasers. As the international market for art blossomed in recent years, the international market for the illicit trade in art skyrocketed.