In reaction to the damaging consequences of the illicit international trade in art and antiques, many countries have implemented new legislation to prevent and prohibit such trafficking. In 2003, the UK enacted the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act and last year Switzerland’s Federal Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Property (CPTA) came into force.
Taking into account the extent to which Switzerland is involved and how most effectively, through legislative and non-legislative means, it can play a part in preventing and prohibiting the illicit art trade, Switzerland has taken various legal steps: it acceded to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property in 2003 and signed the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. It should be mentioned that the ratification of the latter is not anticipated.
