The massive looting, scarring, destruction, and international smuggling of the artistic and archaeological heritage of national patrimonies has received, as it has deserved, widespread public concern and commentary. The plunder of national art treasures has been called quite aptly the "murder of man's history". Individuals, professional groups, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) have all recently come to the rescue. Their efforts have led to the emergence of a transnational regulatory regime which, as will be seen, is both directed toward and supported by a gradual substitution among relevant global actors of the value of enlightenment for that of wealth.
The emerging regime of control is highly pluralistic; it includes multilateral conventions, bilateral treaties, domestic antiquity and export-import laws, private bilateral agreements, enforcement by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), voluntary self-regulation by museums, domestic and international NGO programs and controls, and, to a perhaps diminishing extent, the market itself. Although there has been useful commentary on some aspects of this regime, little of it pertains to the role of such NGO's as the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
As a potential leader in the process of regulating both local acquisitions and transfers of art and artifacts, ICOM is interesting first in respect of its specific functions of control. Moreover, and more generally, as an organization showing signs of transformation from a static, conference orientation to a dynamic instrumentality of social action, ICOM is interesting in respect of the emerging role of non-governmental organizations in the transnational legal process. This study will explore both of these dimensions of ICOM's institutional role. It represents one effort in what has been described as the "tremendous job" of investigating the practices of international organizations, in applying their basic norms and law. Such investigation can serve as a foundation for the sort of comparative analysis and general theory which improves the capacity of international organizations to engage in responsive and effective decision-making.
