International Law and
Human Rights Journal
Spring 2026 Symposium

This symposium brings together scholars, practitioners, and students to explore how cultural heritage shapes identity and belonging, and how law can protect the objects, places, and traditions through which communities represent themselves.

Speakers will consider how legal frameworks respond to looting and illicit markets, disputes over provenance and restitution on land and at sea, and the challenges of protecting intangible types of cultural heritage. The keynote, “Combatting the Global Trade in Looted Antiquities,” highlights how these issues play out in practice and what effective accountability can look like.

Panelists will explore a set of urgent questions: When do existing rules deter harm, and when do they simply manage it after the fact? Who has authority to speak for heritage, and what does meaningful protection require from states, institutions, and the international community? Attendees will leave with a clearer sense of where the law is working, where it is falling short, and what reforms could better support cultural preservation in an era of intensified conflict, commerce, and environmental change.

Conference Program

10:30 AM to 10:45 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks

10:45 AM to 11:45 AM
Trafficking, Destruction, and Institutional Protection of Cultural Property
Anne-Marie Carstens, Derek Fincham, James K. Reap

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Keynote Address: Combating the Global Trade in Looted Antiquities
Matthew Bogdanos

1:00 PM to 2:20 PM
Break for Lunch

2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Human Rights, Identity, and the Preservation of Intangible Culture
Karima Bennoune, Mark Harris, Janewa Osei-Tutu

3:45 PM to 4:45 PM
International Law, Science, and Domestic Enforcement of Ocean Heritage
Caroline Blanco, Craig McLean, Ole Varmer

4:45 PM to 5:00 PM
Closing Remarks

This symposium is presented by the Rutgers International Law and Human Rights Journal. 

Meet the Symposium Team!