This entry was posted late thanks to the mysteries of the internet and the past two hours during which I could not access my blog!
The Cultural Property Advisory Commitee (CPAC) is composed of eleven members who advise the President of the United States on the application of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, which is the act which enables the United States to take action under the 1970 UNESCO convention.
The eleven members of the committee are appointed by the President of the United States and according to the “Act”, the composition of the members should be: “two members represent the interests of museums; three members are expert in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, ethnology, or related areas; three members are expert in the international sale of archaeological, ethnological, or other cultural property; and three members represent the interests of the general public. The President appoints members of the Committee to renewable, staggered, three-year terms. ” (Quoted from the CPAC website)
According to the official CPAC website at the Department of State:
“The Department of State (“the Department”) convenes the Committee under the following circumstances: to review a new request from a country asking for assistance under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention; to conduct an interim review of an existing agreement; and to consider a proposal to extend an existing agreement. The Committee is responsible for recommending to the Department whether to enter into or extend an agreement. The Department exercises the President’s decision-making responsibilities under the Act.”
Why is this important to numismatists? Because it appears that for several years this committee did not properly represent the interests of “international sale of archaeological, ethnological, or other cultural property” (Translation: Dealers) and quite frankly, it is my belief that they have not been properly representing the general public based on the appearance of impropriety in the recent “cases” of China and Cyprus.
On November 18th 2008 the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG), the International Association of Professional Numismatists and the Professional Numismatists Guild filed an Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U. S. State Department (DOS) because of the refusal by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to provide the guild and others with information related to the requests for import restrictions on ancient coins from Cyprus, which require importers of even a single common coin of Cypriot type to provide unfair and burdensome documentation.
According to the ACCG website: “The ACCG seeks information relating to requests from Cyprus, China and Italy. In each case, apparent irregularities in the way these requests were handled led to significant concerns. Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also requested similar information on behalf of the ACCG and others. “None of these avenues produced responsive replies,” said Peter K. Tompa, ACCG president. “The reason for this lawsuit is that the DOS has refused to provide meaningful information. We seek transparency and fairness of the process by which decisions affecting the American people are made.”
*Note: This entry is part of a project I have been working on to create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) site on ancient numismatics and issues pertaining to Cultural Property issues as they pertain to ancient coins. Corrections and additions are welcome.
Tags: Ancient Coin Collectors Guild, CPAC, Cultural Property Advisory Commitee