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5 U. C. Davis J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 59 (1999)
Are Finders Keepers - The Need for a Uniform Law Governing the Rights of Original Owners and Good Faith Purchasers of Stolen Art

handle is hein.journals/ucdl5 and id is 63 raw text is: ARE FINDERS KEEPERS? THE NEED FOR A UNIFORM LAW GOVERNING THE RIGHTS OF ORIGINAL OWNERS AND GOOD FAITH PURCHASERS OF STOLEN ART Adina Kurjatko* TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUC ION ............................................................................................. 60 I. BACKGROUND: THE PROBLEM OF PRIVATE ART THEFT .................. 64 A. Private Art Theft and the Impact ofArt Theft .......................... 64, B. Obstacles to Regulating Private Art Theft ................................ 66 II. CURRENT STATE OF THE LAW .......................................................... 69 A. Various Systems Governing the Transfer Of Title to Stolen Art ............................................................... 69 1. Common Law ................................................................ 70 2. Civil Law ....................................................................... 72 3.UNIDRO1T .................................................................. 75 i. Broad Overview of the History and Structure of the UNIDROIT Convention ................ 75 ii. Restitution of Stolen Cultural Objects .................. 78 III. DISPARITIES IN THE CURRENT STATE OF THE LAW .......................... 82 A. Problems with the Common Law and Civil Law Systems .......... 83 B. Problems with the UNIDROIT Convention ................................ 83 IV. PROPOSEDSOLUTION ....................................................................... 86 A. The Law Should Favor the Original Owner Over the Subsequent Purchaser ............................................... 86 B. SuggestedAmendments to the UNIDROIT Convention ............. 88 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 94 * J.D. candidate, 1999, University of California, Davis School of Law; B.A., 1996, University of California, Los Angeles. Following graduation, Adina Kurjatko will join the law firm Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley. I would like to express my gratitude for the valuable editing comments of Tom Morrison and Matt Nelson. I thank and dedicate this Comment to my parents, Eugen and Irina Kurjatko, my brother Alex, the budding artist, and my closest friends, for cultivating my love of the arts.