Welcome
Museums and private collections around the world hold items which were looted from their country of origin, collected for scientific study, or subsequently purchased from the original collectors.
2024 sees the 70th anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Adopted under the aegis of UNESCO in the wake of extensive destruction of cultural property during the Second World War, this was the first multilateral treaty to focus exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage.
Recent years have seen a growing awareness of the importance of cultural property to national identity and a shift in global public opinion in favour of return. Despite this, there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes cultural property and legal and ethical positions are not always clear-cut. Crucially, non-retroactivity of key international agreements mean that items taken prior to the date of adoption are not covered.
IALS has a wide range of resources to explore evolving definitions of cultural property, the tensions between nationalist and internationalist ideals, and changing global attitudes towards ownership and repatriation.
Access a list of books from our library collection
Access other resources, including blogs, reports, museums guidance and website resources
