Principles of Restitution
The HCPO follows certain guiding principles for claims processes aimed at fast, open and transparent restitution of art established as the following:
| Principles | Effective Date |
|---|
| Inter-Allied Declaration Against Acts of Dispossession Committed in Territories Under Enemy Occupation or Control (PDF) | January 5, 1943 |
| Military Government – Germany, United State Area of Control: Law No. 59, Restitution of Identifiable Property (PDF) | November 10, 1947 |
| Military Government – French Zone of Occupation: Ordonnance No. 120 , Pour toute reclamation joindre la dernière bande reçure (PDF) | November 10, 1947 |
| Military Government – British Zone of Control: Law No. 59, Restitution of Identifiable Property to Victims of Nazi Oppression (PDF) | May 12, 1949 |
| UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the Convention | May 14, 1954 |
| UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage | November 16, 1972 |
| UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (PDF) | June 24, 1995 |
| Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art | December 3, 1998 |
| ICOM Recommendations Concerning the Return of Works of Art Belonging to Jewish Owners | January 14, 1999 |
| Vilnius Forum Declaration (PDF) | October 5, 2000 |
| Prague Holocaust Era Assets Conference 2009 Terezin Declaration | June 30, 2009 |
| UNESCO Declaration of Principles Relating to Cultural Objects Displaced in Connection with the Second World War [Draft] | July 31, 2009 |