Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · U.S. Code · Title 22 - FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE · CHAPTER 33— MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM · § 2459

§ 2459. Immunity from seizure under judicial process of cultural objects imported for temporary exhibition or display

1,259 words·~6 min read·/usc/title-22/section-2459

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Agreements; Presidential determination; publication in Federal Register Whenever any work of art or other object of cultural significance is imported into the United States from any foreign country, pursuant to an agreement entered into between the foreign owner or custodian thereof and the United States or one or more cultural, educational, or religious institutions with the capacity to appropriately curate such object within the United States providing for temporary storage, conservation, scientific research, exhibition, or display within the United States at any cultural exhibition, assembly, activity, or festival administered, operated, or sponsored, without profit, by any such cultural, educational, or religious institution with the capacity to appropriately curate such object, no court of the United States, any State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the United States may issue or enforce any judicial process, or enter any judgment, decree, or order, for the purpose or having the effect of depriving such institution, or any carrier engaged in transporting such work or object within the United States, of custody or control of such object if before the importation of such object the President or his designee has determined that such object is of cultural significance and that temporary storage, conservation, scientific research, exhibition, or display within the United States is in the national interest, and a notice to that effect has been published in the Federal Register.
(b)Intervention of United States attorney in pending judicial proceedings If in any judicial proceeding in any such court any such process, judgment, decree, or order is sought, issued, or entered, the United States attorney for the judicial district within which such proceeding is pending shall be entitled as of right to intervene as a party to that proceeding, and upon request made by either the institution adversely affected, or upon direction by the Attorney General if the United States is adversely affected, shall apply to such court for the denial, quashing, or vacating thereof.
(c)Enforcement of agreements and obligations of carriers under transportation contracts Nothing contained in this section shall preclude
(1)any judicial action for or in aid of the enforcement of the terms of any such agreement or the enforcement of the obligation of any carrier under any contract for the transportation of any such object of cultural significance; or
(2)the institution or prosecution by or on behalf of any such institution or the United States of any action for or in aid of the fulfillment of any obligation assumed by such institution or the United States pursuant to any such agreement.
(d)Imported and importation defined For purposes of this section, the terms “imported” and “importation” include a transfer from a mission of a foreign country located within the United States to a cultural, educational, or religious institution located within the United States.
(Pub. L. 89–259, Oct. 19, 1965, 79 Stat. 985; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, § 1216(a) Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3922.)
Connections2,298 cite this · traces to 2
Cited by 2,298 sections · top 60
register
4 references not yet in our index
  • Pub. L. 89–259
  • 79 Stat. 985
  • 134 Stat. 3922
  • 134 Stat. 3923
Citation graph
cites case law
§ 2459
Immunity from seizure under judicial process of cultural objects imported for temporary exhibition or display
Fed. Reg.×2,221
Bills×43
U.S.C.×10
Stat. Comp.×8
Stat.×8
Pub. L.×7
C.F.R.×1
Pub. L.Pub. L. 89–259
Stat.79 Stat. 985
Stat.134 Stat. 3922
Stat.134 Stat. 3923
Cites 6Cited by 2,298 across 7 sources
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.