Art and culture law

Art and culture law is the body of law, including domestic and foreign law, and multilateral treaties and conventions, that regulates and is applied to artists, fine art and cultural property. Art can expose society's faults and freedoms and often artistic expression can conflict with cultural and political ideals. Yet equally, art can also make sense of law - advancing dialogues on social injustice.
Theories.
John Henry Merryman is a pioneer of cultural and artistic property law academia. He has drawn distinctions between "two" paradigms through which art and cultural law can be defined. The "first" is the subject being independent of its national ties and attracting significance and meaning from the historical or archaeological interest that is generated by human culture. This is idea is legally bolstered by the UNESCO definition of cultural objects which is a close definition of significant objects which attract interest. The "second" in-extricably ties cultural objects to their national heritage which in turn legitimises efforts for their re-patriation (see Elgin marbles, Gweagal shield, Easter island).