Protection of cultural property in private international law

Cultural properties are irreplaceable works of scientific value. Because of these features, cultural properties should be preserved and transferred to the next generations as much as possible. For this purpose, legal regulations have been adopted in international law, comparative law and Turkish law to ensure the protection of cultural properties where they are located. The main feature of these adopted regulations is to ensure the protection of cultural properties in the country of origin, to prevent illegal cultural property smuggling, and to ensure the return of cultural assets to their countries of origin. Theft of cultural properties as a result of illegal excavations or in violation of export restrictions and taking them to other countries is considered as cultural property smuggling. As a result of cultural property smuggling, cultural properties are included in the legal systems of other countries, and are taken by well-intentioned third parties in these countries and become the subject of private law proceedings. The fact that cultural properties that have left the country illegally are subject to legal proceedings before third parties does not prejudice the property rights of states over these properties. In order to return cultural properties that have left the country illegally, states file a return lawsuit in accordance with the state ownership rule stipulated in their own laws. There is no doubt that there is a foreign element in these cases filed in the courts of other countries for the return of cultural properties. Disputes regarding the return of cultural property containing foreign elements constitutes the subject of international private law and in this context, rules regarding conflict of laws find application.