ILLICIT TRAFFICKING OF CULTURAL HERITAGE ITEMS AS AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME: CHARACTERISTICS AND RESPONSES

Abstract

Modern crime knows no borders, and criminal groups from one country easily connect with similar groups or organizations from other countries, so that it takes on a new dimension in the criminal world. Cross-border crime has become a key security issue for policymakers and law enforcement agencies. Their efforts have increasingly shifted from the domestic scene to the international arena and transnational crime. The term transnational crime now belongs to the everyday vocabulary of not only criminologists, but alsopolicy makers, law enforcement officials and the public.One popular thesis related to organized crime claims that the illegal trade incultural heritagegoods is the third most typical form of illegal trade - rightafter drugs and firearms. According to ECOSOC the illicit trade in culturalheritagegoods is often carried out in the same criminal circles as the illicittrade in drugs, arms and other illegal activities. This paper will focus on the problem of illicit trafficking of cultural heritage items as an internationalcrime, its concept, characteristics and international response to this crime.