Abstract

This article discusses state immunity from seizure in relation to foreign cultural goods lent for temporary exhibitions. A state provides a legal guarantee that cultural goods on temporary loan from another state will be protected against any form of seizure throughout the duration of the loan. There are two major reasons for which a request to seize an object of cultural heritage on temporary loan abroad might be issued: a dispute concerning the ownership of the work, or a credit claimed against the owner of the object. After recalling the distinction between immunity from measures of constraint and jurisdictional immunity, the 2004 United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property will be examined, along with the different judicial approaches adopted by European as well as non-European countries with regard to the specific issue of immunity from seizure. The article will also consider possible conflicts with certain requirements deriving from international law and from multilateral international instruments. Finally, it will illustrate the situation in Italy.