tation of fossils into France was prohibited by the
1970 UNESCO Convention and the ensuing French
code du patrimoine (Heritage Code). Following
this logic, the receipts, bills of sale, and transport
documents were all fraudulent, and the buyers and
sellers were all thieves and conspirators.
However, the Court of Appeals reminded us that
The import of cultural goods into France
has only been targeted by the rules of
the Heritage Code since the passage
of the law of July 7, 2016 it actually
became law on July 9. Prior to
this reform, only the unauthorized
export of cultural goods was prohibited.
145
The 1970 UNESCO Convention
is not a document that can serve as
grounds for the imposition of criminal
penalties.
Obviously, the clarity of that statement should
not require further discussion, but one must ask
how or why it even came up. It is astonishing—and
even terrifying—to consider the implications upon
the legitimacy of crime and punishment that this
case conjures. Among the specifi c issues is that it
stands in opposition to the idea that an incriminating
statute could be based on legislation that had
not yet entered into force at the time of the facts
in question. And further that the codes in question
were interpreted based on an international convention
that has no effect on internal law. How can
they be enforced in this way?
It should be remembered that the trade in cultural
goods in the broadest sense (and, in fact, how
can the fossils of dinosaurs that disappeared millions
of years before civilization appeared be considered
cultural goods?) is not prohibited. While
the case we are discussing here has thankfully been
resolved, going forward the authorities are still
mandated with the task of supervising such trade
and, when the necessity arises, of prosecuting
wrongdoers. Wielding such authority, they must
understand how and when to apply the law.
Many legal codes around the world hold to the
principle of nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege,
that is, crime and punishment must be defi ned by
law. The authorities would do well to remember
this.
Triceratops horridus skull. Maastrichtian
Stage, Late Cretaceous Period, between
70 and 67 million year BP. Hell Creek
Formation, Montana, USA.
Private Belgian collection.
Photo: ROAR Atelier, © Tribal Art magazine.
It should be remembered that trade in cultural
goods in the broadest sense (and, in fact, how can the
fossils of dinosaurs that disappeared millions of years
before civilization appeared be considered cultural
goods?) is not prohibited.
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