Petition · past parliament

Amend British Museum Act 1963 allow for return of artefacts on permanent basis

Closed 293 signatures

What the petition asks

We want the Government to amend Act to allow the Trustees of the British Museum to approve restitution requests for the return of artefacts on a permanent basis. Currently, British Museum Act 1963 prohibits restitution and only allows for disposal of collection items in limited circumstances.
Museums are facing calls to return artefacts to their places of origin. Section 3 of the British Museum Act holds that the Trustees of the British Museum shall not dispose of objects vested in them except for exceptional circumstances - "Trustees do not have the power to sell, exchange, give away or dispose of any object vested in them and comprised in the Collection unless object is a duplicate of another object held in the Collection, object is unfit or useless for the purposes of the Museum".

Timeline

26 Apr 2021 Petition opened for signatures
26 Oct 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 293
Status Closed
Opened 26 Apr 2021
Closed 26 Oct 2021

Follow this petition

Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.

Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.