Cultural Heritage and Emerging Crime

A UNESCO Chair Researching the Heritage Crimes of the Present and Future
  • Blue and white logo that said UNESCO Chair and has the UNESCO primary logo on it

    New and emerging heritage crimes occur beyond the boundaries of detection, deterrence, and imagination. 

    We ask: what comes next? 
     


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  • News and Events

    wall that says nationale bibliotheek and a screen that says Naitonal Action Day Resiliant Heritage in Dutch

    Kick Off: National Action Day Resilient Heritage, Den Haag

    Held on 11 May 2026 at the Dutch Royal Library, The Hague.

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    Three women and two men, event speakers, stand in front of a long podium that, itself, is in front of archaeological remains.

    Yates visits Milan for Law & Arts Open Seminar

    The chair was an invited speaker for this series.

     

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    Irritator Guardian

    Stewens interviewed for The Guardian re Fossil Return

    Affiliated researcher Paul Stewens was interviewed for a piece on the repatriation of a rare dinosaur fossil in The Guardian.

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    Two women in a conference panel. One holds a microphone and is speaking

    Chair presents at Cultural Property Protection: An enabler for cooperation, Nicosia

    Organised by the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Cyprus.

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  • Publications and Outputs

    Cover of an academic book called Research Handbook on Art, Culture and Heritage Law that shows some ancient looking pottery

    Exploring Aspects of the Online Trade in Antiquities Through Snapshot Analysis

    Book Chapter In: Research Handbook on Art, Culture and Heritage. 

     

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    Cover of the journal Harvard Art Law Review Volume II Winter 2026. There are no images on it.

    Seizure without Restitution: Antiquities Dealer Leonardo Patterson’s Collection before the Munich Administrative Court

    Article in Harvard Law Review

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    Cover of a journal with a large CP on it

    A Tale of Two Museums: Restitution and the Genealogy of the False Dichotomy between Natural History Museums and Cultural Museums

    Journal paper in International Journal of Cultural Policy

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  • The UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Emerging Crime is held by Prof. Donna Yates and hosted by Maastricht University