Dr Sophie Vigneron
Reader in Law, Co-director Centre for Heritage
University of Kent
Kent Law School
Canterbury, Kent
United Kingdom
Dr Sophie Vigneron has been researching the cultural property law for several years and she is a member of several networks that aim to facilitate the study of the UNIDROIT Convention as well as other national and international instruments in the field of protection of cultural property.
- Teaching activities: She teaches two modules (at undergraduate and postgraduate levels) on the protection of cultural property at the Kent law school. Modules on cultural property law are taught in very few English universities. Both modules focus on the trafficking of cultural property and international instruments that aim to protect and facilitate the restitution of trafficked objects.
- Research activities: She has published several articles on the protection of cultural property and She is regularly invited at conferences to speak about the regulation of cultural heritage in the UK and abroad. She is also a member of a network of experts developing a second edition of the French published Dictionnaire compare du droit du patrimoine culturel.
- Training activities: She participated in training sessions organised by Euromed. Her expertise has also been recognised by stakeholders as she has been invited by professional bodies to speak to art dealers and lawyers specialised in the art trade (Franco-British Lawyers Association and K&L Gates), including the leading auction house Christie’s for its 200th anniversary (2016).
Contribution
Dr Sophie Vigneron intends to participate in the Academic project by organising conferences that will highlight the role of the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects in facilitating the return of cultural property, by being a member of the legal advisory group, by supervising students who wish to undertake research in the implementation of the UNIDROIT convention and by developing her research on the rationalisation of the international legal framework on the protection of cultural property.