Legal Issues in Conservation 

The Legal Issues in Conservation Working Group focuses on the laws, regulations, rules, ethics, and policies regulating, guiding, or affecting conservation professionals. The primary aim of the LIC Working Group is to recommend best practices to conservation professionals by investigating and exploring issues such as stolen, looted, or illegally imported or exported cultural heritage objects; the legal and ethical responsibilities of conservation professionals toward cultural heritage objects and sacred/religious material associated with living cultures and/or religions, and toward cultural heritage objects whose possession or title is in dispute; the laws and ethics related to conservation professionals when working with human remains and associated grave goods or endangered species; the authentication of cultural heritage objects; the confidentiality or disclosure of the records and documentation of the conservation professional; the sale of artwork and/or cultural heritage objects, and the collection of art or antiquities; the duties and responsibilities of conservation professionals toward living artists or toward the estates of deceased artists; conservation and copyright; and dispute resolution methods.