Abstract
Antiquities trafficking is an international cultural and security risk due to the involvement of organized crime. The Nicosia Convention proposes utilization of shared national databases cataloging antiquities as a method to combat the antiquities black market. The United States should adopt this database recommendation. A comprehensive database of antiquities in the U.S. is technically feasible. Further, a database would strengthen American criminal law by creating evidence that a buyer could have notice and knowledge of the status of a trafficked antiquity, the lack of which currently incentivizes authorities to use civil forfeiture actions instead of criminal prosecution. Implementing an antiquities database would help the United States combat the antiquities black market and protect good faith market participants, strengthening the legal market and helping the United States achieve broader policy goals.
Recommended Citation
Sula, Dea,
THE NEED FOR A UNITED STATES NATIONAL ANTIQUITIES DATABASE: A VALUABLE SUGGESTION FROM THE NICOSIA CONVENTION,
22 Santa Clara J. Int'l L.
29
(2024).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol22/iss1/2
