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NCBC

National Commission for Backward Classes is statutory body established in August 1993, under the provisions of National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. The commission was the outcome of the direction of the Supreme Court in the Mandal case judgement.

The commission has five members: a Chairperson who is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court; a social scientist; two persons, who have special knowledge in matters relating to backward classes; and a Member-Secretary, who is or has been an officer of the Central Government in the rank of a Secretary to the Government of India. Their term is of Three years.

The commission considers inclusions in and exclusions from the lists of communities notified as backward for the purpose of job reservations and tenders the needful advice to the Central Government.

1970 UNESCO Convention

The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property is an international treaty. It is the first international instrument dedicated to the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property.

It was adopted at the 16th General Conference of UNESCO on 14 November 1970 in Paris and came into force on 24 April 1972. 127 states are parties to the treaty. The provisions contained in the 1970 Convention aim to protect cultural property against theft and looting while emphasizing the restitution of such items. The Convention stresses three main principles for States to follow.

Preventive measures Firstly, States Parties are requested to take preventive measures to impede the illicit import and export of cultural property from their territory. These measures include, among others, inventories, export certificates, monitoring of trade, imposition of penal or administrative sanctions and educational programs.

Restitution provisions (Art.7 of the Convention) Secondly, States are requested to return cultural property. Under the restitution provisions of the Convention, States Parties take appropriate steps to recover and return cultural property illicitly stolen from the territory of another State party to the Convention and imported into their territory after the entry into force of this Convention for both States concerned. Innocent purchasers and persons with a valid claim to such cultural property are entitled to a just compensation. Restitution requests are made through diplomatic offices.

International cooperation Lastly, the Convention strives to set up an international cooperation framework to strengthen ties between States Parties to the Convention. In particular, such cooperation allows for States whose cultural heritage is in jeopardy due to pillaging of archaeological or ethnological materials, to ask other affected States for assistance, through the creation of import and export controls and general measures to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural property.

Under the provisions of the 1970 Convention, a State Party can seek the recovery and return of any illegally exported or stolen cultural property imported into another State Party only after the entry into force of this Convention in both States concerned. However, the 1970 Convention does not in any way legitimize any illegal transaction of any nature which has taken place before the entry into force of this Convention nor limit any right of a State to make a claim under provisions of relevant national legislations or international instruments.