Professional Guidelines established by
International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA)

Code of Ethics and Practice; Due Diligence Guidelines (2015)

Organization's Web Site
www.iadaa.org

Guideline Summary

Rules of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art, approved by the General Assembly on 11 November 2015.  

Annex I: Code of Ethics and Practice
Annex II: Due Diligence Guidelines

Specific Guidelines

Annex I - Code of Ethics and Practice
 
1. The Members of IADAA will make their purchases in good faith. 

2. The Members of IADAA undertake not to purchase or sell objects until they have established to the best of their ability that such objects were not stolen from excavations, architectural monuments, public institutions or private property. 

3. The Members of IADAA refuse to dismember and sell separately parts of one complete object. 

4. The Members of IADAA undertake to their best ability to keep intact complete assemblages that were originally meant to be kept together. 

5. The Members of IADAA undertake to the best of their ability to keep photographic records prior to repair and restoration, to be honest and open by describing in writing the amount of repair and restoration undertaken to a prospective purchaser. 

6. The Members of IADAA guarantee the authenticity of all objects they offer by the best of their professional knowledge and belief. 

7. The Members of IADAA undertake to inform the Administrative Board about stolen goods and thefts. The Members of IADAA also undertake to co-operate with international and national agencies involved with the recovery of stolen goods. 

8. It is a condition of membership that the Members of IADAA undertake to check items which are to be sold at a price in excess of €5,000 (or local currency equivalent) with the Art Loss Register or with a stolen art register which is recognised by the Board, unless the item has already been checked. 

9. IADAA condemns illegal use of metal detectors. 


Annex II - Due Diligence Guidelines
 
1. In order to prevent the illicit trade in stolen antiquities, the Members of IADAA must endeavour to take the following steps: 

2. Require a vendor to provide their name and address and to sign and date a form identifying the item for sale and confirming that it is the unencumbered property of the vendor which they are authorised to sell. 

3. Verify the identity and address of new vendors and record the details 

4. Pay particular attention in the case of any item offered for sale where the asking price does not equate to its market value 

5. If you are offered an item you suspect to be stolen
     (a) Attempt to retain the item while enquiries are made
     (b) Contact the appropriate authorities
     (c) Check with the relevant stolen property registers 

6. Look critically at any instance when requested to pay in cash and avoid doing so unless there is a strong and reputable reason to the contrary. In the absence of such a reason pay by cheque or other method that provides an audit trail. 

7. Be aware of money laundering regulations. 

8. Ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities in respect of the above code 

9. You should be particularly careful only to acquire well provenanced objects from actual trouble spots and adhere to national laws and international regulations with regard to the above.