Article 7(2) of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention : Indigenous restitution claims

![CDATA[The sui generis nature of the experience of indigenous communities and their relation- ship to their cultural objects is explicitly considered, at least to some extent, by the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention. ‘Indigenous’ cultural property is specifically highlighted as a factor of concern in the preamble. Further, ‘tribal and indigenous’ cultural property is, in the case of stolen cultural property that is sacred or communally important, excluded from the absolute time limitation of fifty years for repatriation claims, and instead limited by the relative deadline of three years from the time the claimant learned the location of the cultural object and/or the identity of its possessor. Despite being reliant on States Parties, indigenous communities’ ‘traditional or ritual uses’ of cultural property are explicitly identified as a legitimate ground for requesting the return of illegally exported cultural property. Further, claims by indigenous communities for repatriation of such illegally exported cultural property may proceed irrespective of the ‘life of the creator + 50 years’ exception.]]