§ Mr. PoundTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he has made a decision about whether the UK should become a signatory to the UNIDROIT convention on the international return of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects. [109245]
§ Mr. Chris SmithAfter a lengthy inter-departmental consultation, I have concluded that the UK should not become a signatory to the UNIDROIT convention due to conflicts with our current law. In order to implement the convention, changes to our limitation periods and to our personal property law would be required, resulting in a special regime for cultural objects and arguably a less generous position for original rightful owners of objects which are later stolen. I will, however, be considering the possible options for an alternative legislative approach which would share some of the objectives of the UNIDROIT Convention.