Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Federal Ban on Trafficking of Certain “Culturally Significant Articles”
On October 22, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit affirmed a Federal District Court decision that a federal ban on the trafficking of certain culturally significant articles was proper and did not unfairly prevent the importation of rare coins from China and Cyprus.
Historically, the United States has taken significant steps to thwart the theft, excavation, and illicit export of culturally significant articles into and out of other countries. In 1970, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (“UNESCO”) held a conference in which it developed an international system to protect countrys culturally significant articles. The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (the “Convention”) was spawned from this conference. The Convention promulgated rules that afforded state parties the ability to request that other signatories to the Convention implement import and export controls to protect the requesting states cultural property from theft and illicit export.
The U.S. Congress subsequently ratified these rules in 1972, and ten years later under President Reagan, domestically implemented the Convention through the Cultural Property Implementation Act (“CPIA”). The CPIA give the U.S. government the authority to place import restrictions on certain articles of cultural property at the request of a Convention signatory. The scope of these restrictions is limited under 19 U.S.C. §2601 to, among other criteria, “archeological or ethnological material of the State Party” that “was first discovered within, and is subject to export control by, the State Party” requesting import restrictions. The authority to determine and list restricted articles initially resided with the President and Secretary of Treasury, but has since been delegated to the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The CPIA provides the following exceptions for articles being imported into the United States that have been determined to be covered by the Act:
- the articles are accompanied by formal documentation certifying that the item was lawfully exported;
- there is satisfactory evidence that the article was exported from a State Party at least ten years prior to arriving to the United States and the importer owned it for less than one year before it arrived in the United States; or
- there is satisfactory evidence that the article was exported from the State Party before the import restrictions took effect.
Also, if the date of export from the State Party is not known, a statement expressing belief that the article meets one of the exemptions may suffice.
In September 1998, Cyprus formally requested the imposition of import restrictions on certain categories of articles that jeopardize the national cultural patrimony of Cyprus. The import restrictions were permitted and further extended to include certain coins of Cypriot origin in 2007. In May 2004, China also made formal requests to the United States for the imposition of import restrictions on categories of Chinese archeological material from the Paleolithic to the Qing Dynasty. The United States also permitted these restrictions and in 2009 extended said restrictions to certain types of Chinese coins.
In April of 2009, after these restrictions had taken effect, the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (the “Guild”) purchased twenty-three (23) ancient Chinese and Cypriot coins from a London dealer. According to the dealers documentation, the coins were minted in China or Cyprus and each coin had no recorded provenance. The coins were subsequently detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) for allegedly violating CPIA and associated regulations. Interestingly enough, rather than attempting to establish that the coins were lawfully admitted under one of CPIAs exceptions, the Guild decided not to provide CBP with any supporting documentation and, in the alternative, waited until forfeiture proceedings were initiated to bring a claim against CBP and the U.S. Department of State in Federal District Court.
What was initially an import/export dispute with CBP quickly turned into a dispute regarding the balance of powers between the different branches of the federal government. In its court filings, the Guild claimed that both CBP and the Department of State acted ultra vires, a Latin phrase that means “beyond the powers” and which has been coined (no pun intended) in the legal context to describe actions where an entity exceeds the authority which it has been expressly granted. The Guild based its ultra vires claims on the fact that both agencies overstepped their authority by not including a more detailed accounting of specific items covered under the CPIA import restrictions in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), and First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Unfortunately for the Guild, the Fourth Circuit recognized that it is well settled, with respect to foreign affairs, that the federal judiciary is generally not empowered to second-guess the Executive Branch. The court also found that, with respect to these types of import restrictions, the Executive Branch has broad discretion in negotiating agreements with foreign states under 19 U.S.C. §2602(a). Based upon the broad powers of the Executive and the agencies proper compliance with the APA, the court affirmed the district courts dismissal of the Guilds claims on these arguments.
Additionally, the Fourth Circuit pointed out that Congress had provided administrative procedures through which importers could challenge CPIA seizures and forfeitures under § 2609. In its case, the court ruled that the Guild was not stripped of its due process rights, but rather decided to purposely forego its potential administrative remedies in order to challenge the governments claims and prove that the coins were not subject to forfeiture.
Furthermore, as a legal strategy, it may have been of greater value for the Guild to focus its efforts on trying to prove that the coins were outside of the confines of the CPIA import restrictions. Generally, importers of antiques and culturally significant items are advised to assemble formal documentation of lawful entry prior to import and to complete significant due diligence into their prospective imports origin, age, and chain of custody to avoid possible import violations. The court noted in its opinion that proving the coins are beyond the scope of CPIA in the administrative process may be the Guilds only remaining legal recourse.
Here at FIDJ our attorneys have significant experience in disputing seizures of cultural items, antiques and artifacts. If you believe that your importation of culturally significant or ethnological materials has been improperly seized or may qualify for one of the CPIA exemptions, feel free to contact the Customs and Trade Law practice group at FIDJ.