APPENDIX A
Facsimile of 1985 Code of Practice
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CONTROL OF INTERNATIONAL
TRADING IN WORKS OF ART
1. In view of the worldwide concern expressed
over the traffic in stolen antiques and works of art and the illegal
export of such objects, the UK fine art and antiques trade wishes
to codify its standard practice as follows:
2. Members of the UK fine art and antiques
trade undertake, to the best of their ability, not to import,
export or transfer the ownership of such objects where they have
reasonable cause to believe:
(a) The seller has not established good title
to the object under the laws of the UK, ie whether it has been
stolen or otherwise illicitly handled or acquired;
(b) That an imported object has been acquired
in or exported from its country of export in violation of that
country's laws; and
(c) That an imported object was acquired
dishonestly or illegally from an official excavation site or monument
or originated from an illegal, clandestine or otherwise unofficial
site.
3. Members also undertake not to exhibit,
describe, attribute, appraise or retain any object with the intention
to promote or fail to prevent its illicit transfer or export.
4. Where a member of the UK fine art and
antiques trade comes into possession of an object that can be
demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt to have been illegally exported
from its country of export and the country of export seeks its
return within a reasonable period, that member, if legally free
to do so, will take responsible steps to co-operate in the return
of that object to the country of export. Where the code has been
breached unintentionally, satisfactory reimbursement should be
agreed between the parties.
5. Violations of this code of practice will
be rigorously investigated.
6. This code which is intended to apply
to all objects usually traded in the fine art and antiques market
and to all persons active in that market has been subscribed by
the following organisations:
Christie Manson & Woods Ltd;
Society of London Art Dealers;
Messrs Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co;
British Antique Dealers' Association;
Society of Fine Art Auctioneers;
Fine Art Trade Guild;
Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers;
British Association of Removers;
Antiquarian Booksellers' Association;
Antiquities Dealers' Association;
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
| 
