Article 13 of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention: Existing and Subsequent Treaty Obligations

Article 13 is one of the most interesting and problematic provisions in Chapter V of the 1995 Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (‘UNIDROIT Convention’). It addresses the relationship of this treaty with competing and complementary international law obligations, especially treaty obligations, incumbent upon its Contracting States. Paragraph 2 may be taken as the only uncontroversial element in Article 13. It duly allows the conclusion of supplementary agreements among certain Contracting States aimed at improving the application of the Convention in their mutual relations. Conversely, The essentially blanket savings clause in Article 13(1) subordinating the UNIDROIT Convention to any other treaty binding on Contracting States may adversely affect the cogency of the Convention whenever an apparent or genuine normative conflict arises. In turn, the disconnection clause in Article 13(3), with its optional nature, unclear wording, and erratic subsequent practice by EU Member States, has opened a Pandora’s box of complicated legal issues.