Permanent Court of Arbitration co-organizes conference on the means for the settlement of cultural property disputes

The conference “Cultural Property: What Means for the Settlement of International Disputes” co-organized by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Florence Chamber of Commerce was held in Florence on 25 October 2019.

The one-day event attracted close to 200 participants including lawyers and art world stakeholders. The morning session featured two speeches, respectively addressing successful cultural diplomacy and the means for the resolution of international cultural property disputes that cannot be resolved through diplomacy. The speeches were followed by a roundtable discussion of the experience of stakeholders such as museums, antiquarians and police units for the protection of cultural heritage. The afternoon session, which included two roundtables, was dedicated to a detailed analysis of arbitration, mediation and negotiation as means for the resolution of cultural property disputes. Conference materials, including the full program and a number of presentations, are available here.

The conference was organized pursuant to a Cooperation Agreement between the PCA and the Florence Chamber of Commerce, which also enables the PCA to make use of the Chambers’ facilities at Piazza dei Guidici in Florence for arbitration hearings.

For the PCA, this conference marks a return to an important topic previously addressed in its Seventh International Law Seminar in 2003, the proceedings of which were published in the Peace Palace Papers series. It was noted at the conference that, at a time when dialogue regarding the return of cultural property acquired in colonial times is evolving, but cultural property continues to be put in jeopardy on a daily basis by armed conflict and illicit trade, it remains essential to discuss avenues for the appropriate and effective resolution of cross-border disputes in this field.