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Any CINOA member association must commit itself to comply with or make its own members comply with the clear and respectable lines of conduct below.
It is more specifically as a reaction to the global will to face trafficking that is inherent to art objects and other illegal exports, that CINOA wishes to underscore and recommend to its member associations the following lines of conduct:
- In view of the worldwide concern regarding trafficking and illegal export of stolen antique objects and works of art CINOA wishes that the profession of antique dealers and traders in works of art would be governed by the following principles:
- The affiliated members of CINOA who happen to possess an object about which there are serious suspicions that it was illegally imported and of which the country of origin demands that it is returned within a reasonable amount of time, shall have to do everything that is possible to them according to the current laws to cooperate in returning the object to its country of origin. In the case of a purchase in good faith by the antique dealer, an amicable refundmay be agreed to.
- The affiliated members of CINOA agree to comply with the laws on the protection of endangered species. They therefore agree not to trade in objects manufactured from materials that are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
- The members will have to take all the necessary measures to detect stolen objects and refer, among others, to registers that are published to this effect and to use these judiciously.
- The members cannot under any circumstance participate in transactions which to the best of their knowledge can result in money-laundering operations.
- It is the duty of each one of the members to check the authenticity of the objects they possess.
The present code of ethics shall apply to all objects that are negotiated on the market of antique objects and art objects.
Resolved at the General Meeting in Florence in 1987, amended in Stockholm on 26 June 1998 and in New York on 11 May 2005.
CINOA Charter
The CINOA Charter defines fine art dealers uncompromisingly as follows:
‘A fine art dealer, member of a national association affiliated to CINOA, is not only a merchant but also a consultant, who is required to respect the rules of her/his association. S/He serves a cultural mission by distributing objects of art which s/he identifies through experience. The relations with her/his clientele are based on confidence and mutual trust. S/He is obliged to give her/his clients correct information concerning the date, the artist and the state of preservation of the objects s/he sells.’
Dealers who are affiliated to CINOA through their art and antiques trade association often display the CINOA logo on their premises as support of the CINOA charter and guidelines.
A recognised symbol of quality and integrity in the art and antiques world.
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