流失文物追索的法律适用问题研究

Research on the Legal Application of Recourse for Lost Cultural Relics

国际民事诉讼是流失文物追索的重要途径,如何确定法律适用规则是文物追索诉讼的核心问题。本文聚焦于文物追索领域的法律适用问题,界定流失文物的概念以明确研究对象,并对文物追索领域的三个法律适用规则进行利弊分析,进而明晰我国当前文物追索领域法律适用的困境:我国尚未针对文物追索制定统一的冲突规范,只能适用我国对于涉外动产纠纷的一般性规定,在实践中面临着最密切联系原则难以应用、缺乏来源国法规则、意思自治空间有限、法律条文构成要件界定含糊而无法准确应用等问题。为此,本文建议建立以文物来源国法规则为基础、兼顾经济补偿与“但书”两种措施的文物追索冲突规则,以便更好地平衡文物追索方与善意购买人之间的利益关系,为打通文物追索国内诉讼途径提供更为完善的法律规制,从而促进我国文物返还工作的顺利实施。

International civil litigation is an important avenue for the recovery of lost cultural relics. Determining the applicable legal rules is the core issue in litigation concerning relic recovery. This article focuses on the legal applicability issues in the field of relic recovery, defining the concept of lost cultural relics to clarify the scope of the study. It also conducts a comparative analysis of three legal rules applicable in relic recovery, highlighting the dilemma faced by China’s current legal application in relic recovery: the absence of unified conflict norms specifically addressing relic recovery. Currently, China can only apply general provisions concerning foreign property disputes, leading to challenges in practical application due to difficulties in applying the principle of closest connection, lack of rules regarding the laws of the country of origin, limited space for autonomy, and ambiguity in defining legal provisions, making accurate application challenging. Consequently, this article suggests establishing comprehensive conflict rules for relic recovery based on the laws of the relic’s country of origin, while considering both economic compensation and “proviso”-setting. This proposal aims to better balance the interests between relic recovery claimants and bona fide purchasers, thereby providing a more comprehensive legal framework to facilitate domestic litigation avenues for relic recovery, ultimately promoting the smooth implementation of cultural relic restitution efforts in China.