Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Maltese Laws

Cultural Heritage Act, 2002 (Act No. Vi Of 2002) Return Of Cultural Objects Unlawfully Removed From The Territory Of A Member State Of The European Union, Regulations, 2003. (L.N. 246 Of 2003 )

CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT, 2002 (ACT NO. VI OF 2002)
Return of Cultural Objects Unlawfully Removed from the Territory of a Member State of the European Union, Regulations, 2003
By virtue of article 55 of the Cultural Heritage Act, 2002, the
Minister for Youth and the Arts has made the following regulations>-
1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Return of Cultural Objects unlawfully removed from the Territory of a Member State of the European Union Regulations, 2003.
(2) These regulations shall be deemed to have come into force on the 9th September,2003.
2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires – “Act” means the Cultural Heritage Act 2002<
The definitions “cultural property” and “ cultural heritage” are those specified in the Act and in the Annex to the Directive, including public collections listed in the inventories of museums, archives or collections conserved within libraries<
“public collections” means collections which are the property of a Member State, local or regional authority within a Member State or an institution situated in its territory and defined as public in accordance with the legislation of that Member State, such institution being the property of, or significantly financed by, that Member State or a local or regional authority, including inventories of ecclesiastical institutions.
“requesting Member State” means a Member State of the European Union in whose territory a cultural object which was unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State is located.
3. (1) These regulations shall give effect to the provisions of European Council Directive 93#7 of the 15 March,1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State, hereafter referred to as “the Directive”.

Title and commencement.

Interpretation

Scope.

B 3016

Return of Cultural

Objects.

Movement in Contravention of laws of requesting Member State

Proceedings before competent court.

Return of object to requesting Member State.

(2) These regulations shall apply to cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State on or after the 1st January, 1993.
4. Cultural objects which have been unlawfully removed form the territory of a Member State of the European Union shall be returned in accordance with the procedure and in the circumstances provided for in these regulations and in the Directive.
5. The Cultural Heritage Superintendence, established by article
7 of the Act, shall be the authority appointed to carry out the duties provided for in these regulations.
6. Any movement of cultural property or cultural heritage, even if temporary, is illegal if affected in contravention of the regulations of the Directive or of the laws of the requesting Member State.
7. (1) A Member State initiating a request for the return of a cultural object which has been unlawfully removed from its territory shall be entitled to initiate proceedings before the competent court in Malta, against the possessor or, in default, the holder of the said object.
(2) Save as otherwise provided for in regulation 8 hereof, the competent court shall order the return of the cultural object in question where it is found to have been unlawfully removed from the national territory.
8. (1) Where the return of the cultural object is ordered, the competent court in the requested State shall award the possessor such compensation as it deems fair according to the circumstances of the case, provided that it is satisfied that the possessor has acted in good faith and exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object.
(2) The requesting member state shall pay such compensation upon the return of the object.
(3) Expenses incurred in implementing a decision ordering the return of a cultural object, and for the safe-keeping and conservation of the said object, shall be borne by the requesting Member State.
(4) Payment of the fair compensation and the expenses referred to in subregulations (1) to (3) hereof shall be without prejudice to the right of the requesting Member State to take action with a view to recovering those amounts from the persons responsible for the unlawful removal of the cultural object from its territory.
9. (1) Any action undertaken by virtue of these regulations shall be without prejudice to any civil or criminal proceedings that may be brought, under the national laws of the Member State involved, by the requesting Member State and, for the owner of a cultural object that has been stolen.
(2) In the exercise of the powers established by these regulations the burden of proof shall be governed by the legislation of the requested Member State.
10. (1) In the case of a donation or succession, the possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than the person from whom he acquired the object by that means.
(2) Return proceedings provided for in this notice may not be brought more than a year after the requesting state became aware of the location of the cultural object and the identity of its possessor or holder.
(3) Such proceedings may at all events, not be brought more than thirty years after the object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the requesting member state. However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections listed in the inventories of museums, archives or or collections conserved in libraries collections, and ecclesiastical goods in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings shall be subject to a time limit of seventy-five (75) years, except in Member States where proceedings are not subject to a time limit or in the case of bilateral agreements between Member States laying down a period exceeding seventy-five (75) years.
(4) Return proceedings may not be brought if the removal from the national territory of the requesting Member State ceases to be an unlawful activity at the time when such proceedings are to be initiated.
11. (1) Proceedings may only be brought following a written request by a Member State.
(2) Such request has to be accompanied by>
(a) document describing the object covered by the request and stating that it is a cultural object< and
(b) a declaration by the competent authorities of the requesting Member State that the cultural object has been unlawfully removed from its territory.
B 3017

National Laws of

Member States.

Civil law status.

Manner of proceedings.

B 3018

Central authorities.

Superintendence to keep register.

Other duties of

Superintendence.

12. (1) The central authority of the requesting Member State shall forthwith inform the central authority of the requested Member State that proceedings have been initiated with the aim of securing the return of such object.
(2) The central authority of the requested Member State shall forthwith inform the central authorities of other Member States.
13. The superintendence shall keep a register of cultural goods illegally removed from Malta, and of the requests from other Member States to return cultural objects unlawfully removed from their territory.
14. (1) If the returned cultural object does not belong to a public collection, the Superintendence has the duty to provide for its custody until the delivery to its rightful owner can be affected.
(2) The delivery of the cultural object is subject to the reimbursement to the Superintendence of the expenses sustained for the temporary custody, conservation and restitution of the said object.
(3) When the person to whom the cultural object has to be returned is unknown, the Superintendence shall publish a notice in the Gazette.
(4) If the rightful owner does not claim the cultural object within five years from the publication of the said notice in subregulation (3) hereof, the good becomes the property of the State who is obliged to conserve it and make the most profitable use of it possible.

Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment ta’ l-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta — Published by the Department of Information (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press

Prezz 8ç – Price 8c