Dealing in cultural objects; dealing with a gap in Scots Law

This paper is a referenced and updated version of the presentation given at the Heritage and Human Rights Perspectives through Past, Present and Future conference hosted by the University of Strathclyde on 5 December 2024. It reflects on Scotland’s omission from a statutory regime that criminalises dealings in culturally significant property where that property has somehow been tainted. Rules to this effect were introduced to the rest of the UK by virtue of the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003. The paper explains how this gap in Scots law came to pass, why it subsists, and why it is both desirable and possible to remedy this matter through the passage of a Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) (Scotland) Act.