Glossary

Definitions of the main terms used in cultural property provenance, due diligence and the fight against illicit trafficking. Written for a non-specialist audience.

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• Authenticity#

  The quality of a cultural object whose attribution, period of creation and material characteristics correspond to what is claimed by the seller or holder. Authenticity is established through material, documentary and comparative expertise. It must be distinguished from the legality of origin: an object may be authentic without being of licit provenance, and vice versa.

• Cultural object#

  Any object presenting artistic, historical, archaeological, ethnological, scientific or religious value. The concept is defined by the 1970 UNESCO Convention and clarified by national legislation. In Swiss law, the term is used in the Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Property (CPTA, RS 444.1). It covers unique works as well as series, movable objects and certain dismembered architectural elements.

• Good faith#

  The state of an acquirer who, at the time of acquisition, did not know and could not reasonably have known that the object was stolen, spoiliated or illicitly exported. Good faith is presumed under Swiss law (Art. 3 CC), but this presumption is rebutted if the circumstances of the transaction should have aroused suspicion in a diligent acquirer. It conditions the acquisition of title by adverse possession after five years (Art. 728 CC) and is the pivotal issue in most restitution disputes.

• Catalogue raisonné#

  A comprehensive scientific register of an artist’s work, compiled by a recognised expert, foundation or specialised institution. It lists all known works with their description, provenance, exhibition history and bibliography. Inclusion in the catalogue raisonné is a decisive factor in the authentication and valuation of a work. Absence from, or rejection by, a catalogue raisonné is often a warning sign.

• Certificate of authenticity#

  A document issued by an expert or gallery certifying that the work conforms to the claimed attribution. Its legal weight depends on the competence, independence and reputation of its author. A certificate issued by a partial or insufficiently qualified expert provides no serious guarantee. It never dispenses with an independent provenance verification.

• Colonial context#

  The historical period during which cultural objects were removed by force, under duress or without the informed consent of source communities, in the context of European colonial expansion. These removals are now the subject of restitution claims by states and source communities. The designation “colonial context” is progressively recognised by national legislation and institutional ethical principles.

• Declassification#

  An administrative procedure by which an object ceases to be protected under national cultural heritage law. In Switzerland, the declassification of an object listed in the federal inventory is exceptional and governed by the CPTA. In a museum context, the term also refers to the removal of a work from an institution’s permanent collections.

• Resale right (droit de suite)#

  A right granted to artists or their heirs to receive a percentage of the resale price of an original work in any transaction carried out by an art market professional. This right has been in force in the European Union since 2006 (Directive 2001/84/EC) and in many other states. It does not exist under Swiss or United States law, which may influence the choice of sale venue for a transaction.

• Due diligence#

  Standard due diligence. The set of checks required before any acquisition of a cultural object: consulting accessible stolen-object databases (Art Loss Register, INTERPOL, TraceArt), verifying the documentable ownership history and checking that the seller is authorised to transfer the object. This minimum verification applies to all acquirers, professional or otherwise.
  
  Enhanced due diligence. Required under Swiss law for any transaction involving a cultural object valued above CHF 50,000 pursuant to the revised CPTA (in force since 1 January 2024). It requires, in addition to standard due diligence, in-depth provenance research including archival searches, consultation of recognised specialists and examination of specialised databases. Insufficient due diligence may deprive the acquirer of good faith protection and entail criminal liability.

• Illicit export#

  The removal of a cultural object from a state’s territory in violation of its national heritage protection legislation. Illicit export is one of the main forms of cultural property trafficking. The 1970 UNESCO Convention obliges state parties to cooperate in the return of such objects. Possession of an illicitly exported object may expose the holder to criminal prosecution and a restitution claim, even if acquired in good faith.

• Forgery and counterfeiting#

  A forgery is a work presented as authentic when it is wrongly attributed to an artist or period. It may result from deliberate imitation or erroneous attribution in good faith. Counterfeiting consists of reproducing or imitating a copyright-protected work without authorisation from the rights holder, independently of any question of attribution. The two offences differ in purpose: forgery aims to deceive as to value and attribution; counterfeiting aims to exploit existing rights unlawfully.

• ADR — Alternative Dispute Resolution#

  The set of procedures for resolving a dispute without recourse to the courts. In cultural property matters, ADR is frequently preferred for its confidentiality and flexibility. The main methods are: mediation, in which a neutral third party facilitates communication between the parties without imposing a solution; arbitration, in which one or more arbitrators render a binding decision similar to a judgment; amicable expert determination, in which a third-party expert assesses a technical or artistic fact without adjudicating the dispute as a whole; conciliation, in which the conciliator may formulate a settlement proposal that the parties are free to accept or reject; and collaborative law, in which the parties’ lawyers contractually commit to resolving the dispute amicably before any recourse to litigation.

• Mediation#

  An amicable dispute resolution method in which a neutral and impartial third party — the mediator — helps the parties find a mutually acceptable solution themselves. Mediation is confidential, voluntary and non-binding: no agreement can be imposed. It preserves the relationship between the parties and often leads to more durable outcomes than litigation. Under Swiss law, an agreement reached in mediation may be approved by the court (Art. 217 CPC) and thereby acquire the force of an enforceable judgment. In provenance and restitution disputes, mediation enables tailored solutions that take account of historical, cultural and ethical considerations that the law cannot always accommodate.

• MNR — Musées Nationaux Récupération#

  A designation applied to works recovered in Germany at the end of the Second World War and entrusted to the custody of French National Museums pending restitution to their rightful owners. The MNR acronym has appeared in French museum inventories since 1949. These works are the subject of active provenance research coordinated by the French authorities (Mission for Research and Restitution of Cultural Property Spoiliated between 1933 and 1945).

• Cultural heritage#

  The totality of material and intangible assets transmitted by past generations, bearing significant value for a community, a state or humanity. International protection of cultural heritage rests on several foundational conventions: the 1954 Hague Convention (armed conflict), the 1970 UNESCO Convention (illicit transfers) and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention (stolen or illicitly exported cultural objects). National legislation defines protected categories and governs the export, sale and restitution of these assets.

• Possession in good faith#

  The situation of a person who holds a cultural object while legitimately unaware of its illicit origin. Under Swiss law, a possessor in good faith may acquire title to a movable after five years of uninterrupted possession (ordinary adverse possession, Art. 728 CC). However, if the object was taken from its owner against their will (theft, spoliation, involuntary loss), the period is extended to thirty years, consistent with federal case law and the CPTA. Possession in good faith does not preclude a restitution claim based on Nazi spoliation if the thirty-year period has not expired.

• Prescription (limitation period)#

  The legal mechanism by which the passage of a specified time period extinguishes a right or action. In cultural property restitution, prescription may bar a claim if the rights holder failed to act within the applicable statutory deadlines. Time limits vary considerably between states, depending on the type of dispute and the date of the underlying events. Under Swiss law, the restitution action for a stolen movable is imprescriptible as against the thief, but may be raised against a bona fide third-party acquirer only within thirty years (CPTA, Art. 32(1)). Several states have enacted special legislation suspending or extending time limits for Nazi-era spoliation.

• Provenance#

  The documented history of ownership and successive transfers of a cultural object, from its creation or discovery to its current holder. A complete provenance identifies successive owners by name, the dates and modalities of each transfer, and the archival sources and documentary evidence. Gaps in provenance — particularly for the period 1933–1945 — are major warning signs in any acquisition. Provenance verification is the core of cultural property due diligence.

• Triage report#

  A preliminary risk assessment document for a cultural object, generated from a visual analysis and contextual data provided by the user. It identifies potential warning signs (gaps in provenance, resemblance to a reported object, contested attribution) and directs the user to the authoritative databases to consult. The triage report is an advisory tool: it constitutes neither legal advice, nor a certificate of authenticity, nor a guarantee of non-spoliation. It precedes and informs formal due diligence without substituting for it.

• Restitution#

  The return of a cultural object to its rightful owner, their heirs or the state of origin, following a claim grounded in law or ethical considerations. Restitution may result from a court decision, an amicable agreement, a recommendation by a specialised commission (such as the Sommaruga Commission in Switzerland) or a voluntary decision by the holding institution. It must be distinguished from long-term loan, which does not transfer ownership, and from cultural repatriation, a term sometimes used for indigenous heritage.

• Claim#

  A formal demand addressed by a dispossessed owner, their heirs or a state, seeking the return of a specific cultural object. A claim may be brought before civil or criminal courts, or pursued through an amicable procedure. It presupposes precise identification of the object and establishment of a title or sufficient link with the claimant. Under Swiss law, the action for restitution of movables is governed by Arts. 641 et seq. CC and the special provisions of the CPTA.

• Seizure (sequestration)#

  A precautionary measure by which a cultural object is placed under the custody of a third party or competent authority pending a court decision or agreement between the parties. Sequestration aims to preserve the object and prevent its sale, transfer or deterioration during the dispute. In Switzerland, seizure may be ordered by the civil court (Art. 271 LP) or by a criminal authority in the context of an investigation for illicit trafficking.

• Spoliation#

  The forcible or fraudulent dispossession of a cultural object, in particular in the context of Nazi persecutions (1933–1945), wars or military occupations. Spoliation differs from theft in that it often takes on the appearance of legality: forced sale at derisory prices, administrative confiscation, discriminatory taxation. The Washington Principles (1998) and the Terezin Declaration (2009) constitute the international reference standards for the restitution of Nazi-era spoiliated property. In Switzerland, the Independent Commission for Cultural Property with a Problematic Past (chaired by Simonetta Sommaruga since 2026) issues recommendations on such cases.

• Title of ownership#

  A document or set of documents establishing that a natural or legal person is the legitimate owner of a cultural object. For movables, title generally derives from a deed of sale, a deed of gift, a probate inventory or a court decision. The absence or weakness of title is a major risk factor in any transaction and a frequent obstacle in restitution proceedings.

• Illicit trafficking#

  The trade or transfer of cultural objects in violation of applicable national legislation or international conventions. Illicit trafficking encompasses theft, unauthorised export, document fraud and the commercialisation of objects from clandestine excavations (archaeological looting). It constitutes one of the most lucrative forms of international crime, often linked to money laundering. The 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention form the international legal framework for combating this phenomenon.

• Triage#

  The initial and rapid assessment of a cultural object aimed at identifying warning signs that justify further investigation. Triage precedes formal due diligence and enables the acquirer, collector or expert to identify priority areas of inquiry. It is based on the visual analysis of the object, consultation of accessible databases and examination of available provenance information.

• Risk zone#

  A territory designated by competent authorities (INTERPOL, Council of Europe, UNESCO Convention state parties) as an established or probable source of cultural objects from archaeological looting, armed conflict or serious political instability. The acquisition of objects presented as originating from a risk zone without solid provenance documentation exposes the acquirer to significant legal and reputational risk. Risk zone lists are regularly updated by international organisations and customs authorities.

• CPTA — Cultural Property Transfer Act#

  Swiss federal act governing the international transfer of cultural property (CPTA, RS 444.1, in force since 2005, revised in 2024). It implements the obligations arising from the 1970 UNESCO and 1995 UNIDROIT conventions. It imposes documentation obligations for transactions above certain value thresholds, requires art dealers to keep a register and defines the applicable restitution procedures in Switzerland. Since the 2024 revision, the threshold triggering enhanced due diligence is set at CHF 50,000, and documentation obligations apply to all transactions from CHF 2,000 since May 2026.

• UNESCO Convention 1970#

  Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted on 14 November 1970 in Paris. Ratified by 141 States parties, it establishes 1970 as the critical due diligence date for cultural objects: any object whose provenance prior to 1970 is undocumented is presumed to carry risk. It grounds the obligation of international cooperation for the return of illicitly exported objects and forms the legal basis for most international restitution claims.

• UNIDROIT Convention 1995#

  UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, adopted in Rome on 24 June 1995. It complements the 1970 UNESCO Convention by providing private law mechanisms directly applicable between individuals, without requiring state-level action. It provides for the mandatory restitution of stolen cultural objects and the return of illegally exported objects, with a compensation regime for good-faith possessors. To date, 50 States parties — including Switzerland, which ratified it together with the CPTA.