Expert evidence submitted by heritage law expert Dr Sophie Vigneron was published in the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill ahead of the completion of its Public Bill Committee stage last week.

The Bill, introduced to Parliament by the Government on 19 May 2016, aims to enable the UK to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and accede to its two Protocols. The Convention entered into force in 1956 and has now been ratified by 127 states. The UK signed the Convention in December 1954 and has been publicly committed to ratifying it since 2004.

Dr Vigneron, the author of several articles on the protection of cultural heritage at a national and international level and of a book on the regulation of auctions in France and in England, submitted written comments on clauses 16, 17 and 21 of the Bill.

Within clause 16, Dr Vigneron commented upon the definition of unlawfully exported cultural property and urged inclusion of reference to the 1954 UNESCO Convention. She fully supported comments submitted by Professor Ulph on Clause 17 regarding the mental test (mens rea) where it is argued that a subjective test of ‘knowing or suspecting’ would be best to deter secrecy in the art market. Commenting on a reference to ‘good faith and without knowledge’ in Clause 21, Dr Vigneron said it was ‘not conducive of a higher standard of care by buyers or traders in the art world.’

Dr Vigneron is a member of the Institute of Art and Law, and the Société internationale pour la recherche sur le droit du patrimoine culturel. You can watch Dr Vigneron talking about cultural heritage law in her TED style ‘Think Kent’ lecture on YouTube.