246 tal-2003 - Regolamenti tal-2003 dwar it-Treġġigħ Lura ta’ Proprjetà Mneħħija Illegalment minn Territorju ta’ Stat Membru fl-Unjoni Ewropea

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) The title of these regulations is the Return of Cultural Title and

commencement.

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 9 th September,2003.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires –

Interpretation

“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.

(1) These regulations shall give effect to the provisions of Scope.

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”.

(2) These regulations shall apply to cultural objects

unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State on or after

the 1 st January, 1993.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

(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.

Any action undertaken by virtue of these regulations National

(1)

Member States.

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.

(1) In the case of a donation or succession, the possessor Civil law status.

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.

(1) Proceedings may only be brought following a written Manner of

proceedings.

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.

(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.

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.

(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.

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