REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON
THE PROTECTION OF MOVABLE CULTURAL PROPERTY
23 January 1996 No I-1179
(As last amended on 11 December 2018 – No XIII-1755)
Vilnius
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. This Law shall establish administration of protection of movable cultural property, accounting and safe-keeping of movable cultural property, changes in ownership and possession of cultural objects, export of movable cultural property and antiques from the Republic of Lithuania and import thereof into the Republic of Lithuania, return of the cultural objects unlawfully removed from foreign countries.
2. The provisions of this Law have been harmonised with the legal acts of the European Union listed in the Annex to this Law.
Article 2. Definitions
1. Antiques shall mean all movable material creations and other movable objects or parts thereof resulting from a person’s activity and created 50 years ago and earlier, regardless of their cultural value.
2. European Union Member State shall mean any Member State of the European Union or a country of the European Economic Area.
3. Movable cultural property shall mean the material creations of human activity which are movable based on their designation and nature and other movable items possessing cultural value and listed in state inventories of movable cultural property.
4. Regulations on the protection of movable cultural property shall mean a document setting forth safe-keeping, maintenance and use requirements for a specific item of movable cultural property.
5. Certificate of movable cultural property shall mean a document which contains the basic data concerning an item of movable cultural property, an extract from a decree by the Minister of Culture to enter the item in the Register of Cultural Property, photographs or/and other visual material, information concerning the restoration and conservation work performed, location sites and changes in ownership.
6. Protection of movable cultural property shall mean the totality of the technical and organisational measures having the purpose of preserving movable cultural property for current and future generations.
7. Conservation shall mean research-based activities aimed at stopping a destructive or harmful impact on an item of movable cultural property and reinforcing authentic features as well as protecting the item of movable cultural property against natural deterioration.
8. Cultural value shall mean a characteristic feature of a movable item or part thereof which is of value from the ethnical, archaeological, historical, artistic, scientific, technical, religious, aesthetical, memorial or another perspective.
9. Cultural object shall mean a movable cultural property, another movable item having a cultural value or a movable item classified by a European Union Member State as being among national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value under national legislation or administrative procedures.
10. Return of a cultural object shall mean the physical return of a cultural object to the territory of the requesting Member State.
11. Cultural monument shall mean an item of movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property, holding a particular cultural value and declared a cultural monument in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.
12. Cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, a European Union Member State or a third country shall mean the cultural objects which have been removed in breach of the legal acts regulating the protection of national treasures of the Republic of Lithuania, a European Union Member State or a third country, in breach of Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods (codified version) (OJ 2009 L 39, p. 1) or at the end of a period of lawful temporary removal of cultural objects, not returned to the Republic of Lithuania, the European Union Member State or the third country or not returned in any breach of another condition governing such temporary removal.
13. Requesting Member State shall mean the European Union Member State from the territory whereof a cultural object has been unlawfully removed.
14. Restoration shall mean research-based activities having the purpose of disclosing cultural value through elimination of damage and failures, conservation and recreation of the missing parts.
16. State inventories of movable cultural property shall mean the inclusion of a movable item holding cultural value in the Register of Cultural Property, in the accounting documents of the museums and libraries whose owner is the State or a municipality and the museums and libraries whose stakeholders are the State or a municipality and other public legal entities (hereinafter: ‘museums and libraries’) and the National Documentary Fund, processing and storage of data on cultural property.
17. Public collections shall mean the collections which are the property of the State or municipalities of the Republic of Lithuania or are defined as public in accordance with the legislation of a European Union Member State, are the property of a European Union Member State or of a local or regional authority of the European Union Member States or of a legal person established in a European Union Member State and defined as public in accordance with the legislation of that European Union Member State, such legal person having as the owner or participant that Member State (authorities thereof) or a local or regional authority or being significantly financed by national or regional or local authorities.
Article 3. Cultural objects
Cultural objects shall be as follows:
3) the movable items related to key historical events, history of society, culture, war, sports and religions and the lives of distinguished persons;
8) the movable items holding numismatic, sphragistic, heraldic or philatelic value, phaleristics, orders and medals;
10) collections, selections, sets or other objects, as a whole, regardless of the value or types of individual parts; collections of palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest;
Article 4. Entities carrying out the protection of movable cultural property and functions thereof
1. The remit of the National Cultural Heritage Commission in the area of protection of movable cultural property shall be established by the Law on the National Cultural Heritage Commission.
2. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Ministry of Culture’) shall:
1) participate in the formation and implementation of the policy for protection of movable cultural property having regard to the proposals submitted by the National Cultural Heritage Commission;
2) prepare drafts of laws and other legal acts regulating the protection of movable cultural property;
3) lay down criteria for appraisal of the movable items proposed to be entered in the Register of Cultural Property, approve a sample form of the regulations on the protection of movable cultural property and a certificate of movable cultural property, also the rules for filling out and issuing these documents;
4) confer qualification categories to restorers on a recommendation of the Commission for Certification of Restorers of Movable Cultural Properties;
5) approve regulations of the Restoration Council and composition thereof, regulations of the Commission for Certification of Restorers of Movable Cultural Properties and composition thereof, regulations of the Council for the Export of Movable Cultural Property and composition thereof, regulations of the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property and composition thereof;
6) establish the procedure for research, conservation and restoration of movable cultural property (with the exception of documents of the National Documentary Fund);
7) participate in the formation of the policy for searching for the items of movable cultural property unlawfully removed from the Republic of Lithuania or from foreign states and establish guidelines and priorities for search activities;
8) coordinate a search for the cultural objects of importance for Lithuania, their return and presentation to the public;
9) allocate funds for the repurchase of the movable cultural property and antiques not allowed to be exported from the Republic of Lithuania;
3. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection under the Ministry of Culture (hereinafter: the ‘Department of Cultural Heritage Protection’) shall:
1) implement state policy for the protection of movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
2) prepare drafts of the legal acts regulating protection of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
4) prepare, approve, fill out and issue certificates of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property, prepare regulations on the protection of movable cultural property;
5) verify compliance with the regulations on the protection of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
6) refer to courts for defence of the public interest regarding seizure of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property for public needs, recovery of the state funds allocated for the research, restoration and conservation of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property, also for compensation for the damage incurred through improper restoration and conservation as well as improper safe-keeping and use of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
7) finance the entry of the movable items holding cultural value in the Register of Cultural Property, research, conservation, restoration of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property, also of items of cultural property constituting the valuable properties of a structure of immovable cultural heritage, installation of protection means and dissemination of knowledge from the appropriations of the state budget allocated to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection may assign the performance of these works or parts thereof to the bodies, enterprises and organisations subordinate thereto;
8) issue licences for the export of movable cultural property and antiques from the Republic of Lithuania;
11) control the safe-keeping of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
12) control compliance with the procedure for research, conservation and restoration of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property;
13) submit to auctioneers of movable cultural property and antiques conclusions on conditions of the export of the cultural objects sold at auctions from the Republic of Lithuania;
14) organise the pricing of the movable cultural property and antiques missing or stolen in the Republic of Lithuania, determination of the cultural value of antiques, the pricing of the movable cultural property stolen or unlawfully removed from the Republic of Lithuania and from foreign states;
15) organise the pricing of inherited antique works of art, works of art and movable cultural property, organise, together with the Lithuanian Assay Office, the pricing of the inherited antique articles made of precious metals and antique articles made of jewels, issue to persons a certificate of the form specified by the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania about the value of the inherited property;
16) organise and finance the search for and return of the cultural objects of importance for Lithuania and located abroad, preparation of a historical review, accumulate and systematise information thereon, organise and finance the issuance of publications about the cultural objects abroad of importance for Lithuania;
17) in the cases specified by the Code of Administrative Offences, draw up reports of administrative offences, examine cases of administrative offences assigned to its remit;
4. The remit of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania in the area of protection of movable cultural property, namely, documents, shall be determined by the Law on Documents and Archives.
6. In the area of protection of movable cultural property, municipalities shall:
1) be responsible for the protection of the movable cultural property belonging to a municipality by the right of ownership;
2) draw up, finance and implement programmes for the research, conservation, restoration of and installation of protection means for the movable cultural property belonging to a municipality by the right of ownership;
7. The Restoration Council, the Commission for Certification of Restorers of Movable Cultural Properties, the Council for the Export of Movable Cultural Property and the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property, as set out in point 5 of paragraph 2 of this Article, shall perform the functions assigned to them in their regulations in the area of protection of cultural property, and the work of their members shall be remunerated in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Remuneration of Employees of State and Municipal Bodies and Members of Commissions.
Article 5. State inventories of movable cultural property
1. The movable items listed in Article 3 of this Law may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts, be listed in state inventories of movable cultural property, which shall consist of:
2. The Minister of Culture shall establish a procedure for taking inventory of movable cultural property kept at museums and libraries.
3. The inventory-taking and safe-keeping of the documents which are defined as movable cultural property and belong to the National Documentary Fund shall be regulated by the Law on Documents and Archives and other legal acts.
4. The Register of Cultural Property shall be managed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on State Registers, the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, this Law, the Regulations of the Register of Cultural Property, as approved by the Government, and other legal acts. The leading management body of the Register of Cultural Property shall be the Ministry of Culture, and the management body – the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection.
5. Where movable cultural property is permanently exported from the Republic of Lithuania under international treaties in the cases specified in Article 14 of this Law, it shall not be stricken from state inventories, however it shall not be subject to the protection requirements of this Law, and data thereon shall be stored in a database’s archive for an indefinite period.
Article 6. Entry of the movable items holding cultural value in the Register of Cultural Property and striking of movable cultural property therefrom
1. The Minister of Culture shall, on the basis of a conclusion of the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property and subject to approval of the National Cultural Heritage Commission, take a decision on the entry in the Register of Cultural Property, or striking from the Register of Cultural Property, of the movable items listed in Article 3 of this Law and meeting the criteria for appraisal of the movable items entered in the Register of Cultural Property as specified by the Ministry of Culture.
2. In exceptional cases, when there is risk of destruction of a movable item indicated in Article 3 of this Law or any other loss thereof, the Minister of Culture shall have the right to enter the item in the Register of Cultural Property based on a conclusion of the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property concerning this item’s compliance with criteria for appraisal of the movable items entered in the Register of Cultural Property in derogation from the procedure established in paragraph 1 of this Article and based on a conclusion of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection on the risk of destruction or other loss of the item.
3. The entry of a movable item in the Register of Cultural Property may be proposed by the owner, the National Cultural Heritage Commission, the Ministry of Culture, the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection, the Chief Archivist of Lithuania or a municipality. Where the movable item is not entered in the Register of Cultural Property, the Minister of Culture must provide a reasoned response to the person or institution that has submitted the proposal.
4. The owner of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property shall be issued the regulations on the protection of movable cultural property and a certificate of movable cultural property.
5. A movable item not belonging to the State may only be entered in the Register of Cultural Property subject to consent of the owner, with the exception of the cases provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article.
6. The movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property may be stricken from the Register of Cultural Property where it is acquired by museums, libraries, and state archives. The movable cultural property shall not be stricken from state inventories of movable cultural property, however it shall not be subject to the protection requirements set forth by this Law where the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property establishes that the movable cultural property:
Article 7. Lists of legal persons’ movable items holding cultural value
1. The movable items holding cultural value (works of fine and applied arts, musical instruments, etc.) and belonging to legal persons, with the exception of museums, libraries and state archives, shall be included in separate inventories in those legal persons. The Ministry of Culture shall, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, establish a procedure for including these assets in the inventories.
2. The entities performing the functions of protection of movable cultural property shall have the right to check the lists of movable items holding cultural value, the movable items entered therein and the mentioned movable items holding cultural value and to propose, in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law, to enter them in the Register of Cultural Property.
CHAPTER FOUR
SAFE-KEEPING OF THE MOVABLE CULTURAL PROPERTY ENTERED IN THE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTY
Article 8. Safe-keeping of movable cultural property
1. Movable cultural property shall be kept in safety by the owners and possessors thereof. They must observe the requirements of regulations on the protection of movable cultural property.
2. Where the owner or the possessor of movable cultural property fails to comply with the requirements set forth in the regulations on the protection of movable cultural property, the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall issue a written warning thereto and shall lay down a time limit for fulfilment of the requirements of these regulations. Where the owner or the possessor of the movable cultural property fails to fulfil the requirements of these regulations by the set deadline, the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall have the right to impose administrative liability and, following a repeated request and failure to comply therewith, in the presence of the threat of a loss or destruction of the property, to initiate, without issuing an advance warning and in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts, the seizure of the movable cultural property for public needs from the owner, subject to the payment of fair compensation.
3. The movable cultural property which is located in a structure of cultural heritage declared protected and is entered in a certificate of immovable cultural property and in the Register of Cultural Property as a valuable property of the structure shall be covered by provisions of this Law and the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage.
Article 9. Cultural monuments
1. The movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property and holding a particular cultural value shall, on a proposal of the Minister of Culture based on the conclusions of the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property and subject to approval by the National Cultural Heritage Commission, be declared cultural monuments by a resolution of the Government.
Article 10. Compensation to owners of movable cultural property
Owners of the items of movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property shall be compensated for a share of the expenses for research, conservation, restoration and installation of protection means required to preserve these items, where the owners or possessors of these items of movable cultural property exhibit them or provide other public access thereto. The procedure for paying the compensation shall be established by the Ministry of Culture.
Article 11. Research, conservation and restoration of movable cultural property
1. Only the restorers certified by the Commission for Certification of Restorers of Movable Cultural Property and holding appropriate qualification categories shall be allowed to conduct research, conservation and restoration of movable cultural property, also an item which is one of valuable properties of a structure of immovable cultural heritage and objects of artistic immovable cultural heritage. The professional qualifications of entities of a European Union Member State authorised to provide the respective services in their Member State shall be recognised in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on the Recognition of Regulated Professional Qualifications.
2. The Restoration Council shall approve programmes for research, conservation and restoration of movable cultural property, an item which is one of valuable properties of a structure of immovable cultural heritage and objects of artistic immovable cultural heritage, control the progress and quality of work and accept work.
Article 12. Acquisition of rights of ownership and possession of movable cultural property and the movable items holding cultural value
1. The owner of movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property, wishing to sell it or to otherwise transfer it, must advise the future owner or possessor concerning this property’s status and requirements of the regulations on the protection of movable cultural property. Upon entering into a transaction, the former owner of the movable cultural property must, within 15 days, give a written notice to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the change in ownership or possession. The former owner shall transfer to the new owner a certificate of movable cultural property and the regulations on the protection of movable cultural property and to the possessor – copies of the mentioned documents. At the time of the transfer, the former owner and the new owner or possessor shall execute a statement of assessment of the condition of the movable cultural property.
2. Upon entering into a transaction or acquiring the right of ownership on other statutory grounds, the new owner of movable cultural property must, within 15 days, submit to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection the documents attesting to the ownership of the movable cultural property, a statement of assessment of the condition thereof and a certificate of movable cultural property.
3. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall enter the new owner in a certificate of movable cultural property and shall issue thereto the regulations on the protection of this property.
4. All movable items holding cultural value which have been found on land, its surface, under water, in buildings and structures or in parts thereof and indicated in Article 3 of this Law, where their owner or possessor cannot be identified or has lost the title to such under the law, shall be transferred into the ownership of the State. Any search for such items through excavation or using metal detectors or any other search equipment may be conducted only by certified researchers referred to in Article 18(2) of the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage. The persons who have accidentally found the movable items indicated in Article 3 of this Law must, within one week, submit them for appraisal to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. The finds possessing historic, cultural or archaeological value shall be compensated for in the cases and in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 13. Trade in antiques
1. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a European Union Member State, any other natural person enjoying the rights of movement in the European Union Member States conferred on him by legal acts of the European Union, or a legal person established in the Republic of Lithuania or a European Union Member State, any other organisation or branches thereof and/or branches, as set up in the Republic of Lithuania, of the legal persons or other organisations established in third states (hereinafter: an ‘economic entity’) may engage in trade in antiques entered in the Register of Cultural Property or created/manufactured until 1800 under a licence issued by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection (hereinafter: a ‘licence’). These requirements shall apply also to the sale of antiques by electronic means. The procedure for issuing licences and trading in antiques shall be laid down by the Government. Supervision of compliance with the terms of licensed activities shall be exercised, licences shall be issued, the possible suspension and revocation of a licence shall be notified, the validity of the licence shall be suspended, the suspension of the validity of the licence shall be lifted and the licence shall be withdrawn by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection in accordance with the procedure for issuing licences as established by the Government. It shall be prohibited to purchase, sell, exchange, give as a gift, mortgage, lease, give as loan for use archaeological findings or to otherwise transfer the rights of ownership or possession thereof, with the exception of the archaeological findings which have been lawfully acquired in other states and imported into the Republic of Lithuania, also the archaeological findings which are transferred to a national, republican or municipal museum, or are transferred among these museums and received for a temporary or long-term safe-keeping or, in accordance with the provisions of Article 12(4) of this Law, compensation is paid to persons for accidentally discovered archaeological finds possessing historic, cultural or archaeological value or, in accordance with Article 18(5) of the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, compensation is paid for the treasures containing archaeological findings, where they are seized for public needs. When importing into the Republic of Lithuania the archaeological findings lawfully acquired in other foreign states, it shall be necessary to hold and to keep until export from the Republic of Lithuania the documents attesting to their acquisition and indicating the name of the archaeological finding acquired, its individual characteristics, the place and date of the acquisition.
2. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall have the right to suspend the sale of an antique for a period of 20 working days where, in compliance with the Rules for Conducting Routine and Non-routine Inspections of the Activities of Economic Entities approved by the Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection (hereinafter: the ‘Inspection Rules’), there are doubts regarding the lawfulness of the acquisition or its significance for Lithuania’s cultural heritage. The suspension of the sale of the antique shall be executed in the form of a statement of inspection drawn up in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Inspection Rules. Where the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property establishes, within 20 working days, that the antique meets the criteria for appraisal of the movable items proposed to be entered in the Register of Cultural Property as approved by the Ministry of Culture, it may be purchased by the State in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government or entered in the Register of Cultural Property subject to consent of the owner thereof in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law. If, during the period of suspension of the sale of the antique, it is established that the antique may have been acquired unlawfully, the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall communicate the collected information and material to law enforcement institutions in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws.
3. The museums and libraries whose owners/stakeholder is the State or a municipality and the bodies of the state system of archives, that is, state archives, shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Regulations for Trade in Antiques, be vested with the right of priority in acquiring the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property from the persons trading in antiques.
Article 131. Issue and validity of a licence for trading in antiques
1. A licence for trading in antiques shall be issued to an economic entity in accordance with the procedure for issuing licences laid down by the Government within three working days from the receipt of a duly executed application for the issue of a licence for trading in antiques by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection.
2. An economic entity wishing to obtain a licence for trading in antiques shall lodge with the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection an application indicating the name and surname of a natural person or the name, registration number and legal form of a legal person, the place of residence of the natural person or the address of the registered office and contact details of the legal person, the name and surname of the person entitled to act on behalf of the legal person. The application for the issue of a licence for trading in antiques shall be accompanied by a copy of the founding documents of the legal person.
3. If no reply is given to a duly executed application for the issue of a licence for trading in antiques within three working days from the receipt of the application by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection and no reasoned written refusal to issue the licence for trading in antiques is presented, the licence for trading in antiques shall be deemed to have been issued.
4. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall issue only a paper licence or only an electronic licence to all economic entities in the cases specified in the Rules of the Procedure for Issuing Licences approved by the Government.
5. In the event of any changes in the data indicated in a licence for trading in antiques regarding the holder of this licence, the holder of this licence must submit to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection an application for the adjustment of the licence not later than within ten working days from the change of the data. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall adopt a decision on the adjustment of the licence within three working days from the receipt of the application.
6. A licence for trading in antiques shall be refused if:
1) in an application for the issue of a licence for trading in antiques, an economic entity supplies incomplete information specified in the Rules of the Procedure for Issuing Licences, provides incorrect data and, within ten working days from the receipt of a notification from the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection regarding the provision of the missing information or incorrect data, fails to provide the missing information or correct data;
2) in respect of an economic entity being a legal person – a judgment of conviction regarding a crime or misdemeanour against the economy and business practice has become effective over the past one year, and in respect of an economic entity being a natural person – conviction for a criminal act against the economy and business practice has not expired or has not been expunged.
7. A licence for trading in antiques shall be suspended for 30 days when the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection establishes that:
1) incorrect data have been provided for the issue of the licence. Where, upon receipt of a warning of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection regarding a sanction to be imposed, namely, suspension of the licence, an economic entity fails to adjust the data provided for the issue of the licence within ten working days from the receipt of the warning of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection;
8. After causes for the suspension of a licence for trading in antiques have been eliminated, the suspension of this licence shall be lifted. The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall take a decision lifting the suspension of the licence for trading in antiques within ten working days from the receipt of information on the elimination of the causes for suspension of the licence.
9. A licence for trading in antiques shall be revoked if:
1) the licence holder submits to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection an application for revocation of the licence for trading in antiques;
2) the licence holder whose licence for trading in antiques has been suspended has failed to eliminate violations of the established procedure for trading in antiques during the period of suspension of the licence;
4) there is an effective judgment of conviction in respect of the licence holder regarding a crime or misdemeanour against the economy and business practice;
5) the licence holder whose licence for trading in antiques has been suspended carries on the licensed activity;
10. Following the revocation of a licence for trading in antiques:
1) pursuant to point 4 of paragraph 9 of this Article, a new licence may be issued to the same economic entity not earlier than after the lapse of one year from the date of revocation of the previous licence and after the conviction has expired or has been expunged;
2) pursuant to point 5 of paragraph 9 of this Article, a new licence may be issued to the same economic entity not earlier than after the lapse of one year from the date of revocation of the previous licence;
11. An economic entity holding a licence for trading in antiques shall have the right:
1) to engage in trading in antiques entered in the Register of Cultural Property or created/manufactured until 1800;
CHAPTER SIX
EXPORT OF MOVABLE CULTURAL PROPERTY AND ANTIQUES FROM AND IMPORT INTO THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
Article 14. Export of movable cultural property and antiques from the Republic of Lithuania
1. The Government, having regard to the categories of cultural objects specified in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods (Codified version) (OJ 2009 L 39, p. 1), shall approve the Regulations for the Export of Movable Cultural Property and Antiques from the Republic of Lithuania and Lists of Movable Cultural Property and Antiques the Export Whereof from the Republic of Lithuania Requires a Permit Issued by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection under the Ministry of Culture.
2. The movable cultural property and antiques entered in the lists approved by the Government may be exported solely under a permit. The permit shall be issued by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. The Council for the Export of Movable Cultural Property shall be formed to price this movable cultural property, with the exception of the property entered in inventories of movable cultural property of museums and libraries, and antiques, to determine the cultural value of the antiques and to submit conclusions on the issue of permits for export thereof. A decision regarding the permit for export must be adopted within 15 working days from the submission of a written application. The time limit for the adoption of the decision regarding the permit for export may be extended for up to 30 working days in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.
3. A permit for permanent export of an antique from the Republic of Lithuania shall not be issued where the Council for the Export of Movable Cultural Property establishes that the antique intended for export conforms to the following criteria for determination of significance for the cultural heritage of Lithuania:
4. Where a permit for permanent export of an antique from the Republic of Lithuania is not issued, an antique holding cultural value may, subject to consent of the owner thereof, be proposed to be entered in the Register of Cultural Property or purchased by the State within two years in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. Where the Council for the Export of Movable Cultural Property determines that the antique to be exported is insignificant for the cultural heritage of Lithuania, a permit for permanent export of this antique shall be issued upon the owner’s request.
5. Where a permit for permanent export of an antique from the Republic of Lithuania is not issued, the requirements of paragraph 4 of this Article shall not apply to temporary export of these items from the Republic of Lithuania, that is, to cultural and art events or for restoration or repairs subject to an event organiser’s invitation or under an exhibition or event contract or a restoration or repairs contract.
6. The procedure for exporting documents from the Republic of Lithuania shall be established by the Law on Documents and Archives.
7. The movable cultural property entered in the Register of Cultural Property or kept at a museum or a library may not be permanently exported from the Republic of Lithuania. It may be exported only temporarily (outside the customs territory of the European Union – for a period of up to three years, to other European Union Member States – for a period indicated by the applicant, but not exceeding ten years) under a permit issued by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. Upon receipt of a written reasoned request regarding the extension of this time limit, the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection shall have the right to extend it for a period of up to 12 months. Where the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection establishes a time limit for returning the movable cultural property exported temporarily, the owner thereof must, within one month from the return thereof to the Republic of Lithuania, give a notice thereof in writing to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. A permit for permanent export or a permit for temporary export of cultural property and antiques from the Republic of Lithuania shall be valid for no longer than 12 months from the issuance of the permit. Where the validity of the issued permit expires without it having been used, the applicant must return it to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection.
8. An item of movable cultural property may be exported permanently from the Republic of Lithuania solely under international treaties in cases of exchange of movable cultural property, when the Commission for the Appraisal of Movable Cultural Property establishes that the item of movable cultural property received on an exchange basis is not less significant to Lithuania’s cultural heritage than the item of movable cultural property given in exchange.
9. Special manuscript religious texts (Torahs), rewritten exclusively for ritual use and associated with rituals, where they are entered in the Register of Cultural Property or are kept at a museum or a library, may be permanently exported from the Republic of Lithuania for ritual purposes upon a respective resolution adopted by the Government.
Article 15. Written commitment of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it to compensate for losses
In the case of a temporary import of the movable cultural property of foreign states, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, assume a written commitment to allocate funds to a budgetary institution established by the State or a municipality and acting in compliance with the Law on Museums, the Law on Libraries or the Law on Documents and Archives for the purpose of compensating to the owner of an item of movable cultural property for the justified losses incurred as a result of damage or loss of movable cultural property during exhibitions (when organising exhibitions).
Article 16. Return of cultural objects to the European Union Member States
1. The cultural objects unlawfully removed from the European Union Member States and brought to the Republic of Lithuania shall be returned to the state requesting their return upon a respective decision of a court of the Republic of Lithuania. The requesting Member State may not bring proceedings regarding a cultural object unlawfully removed from the territory of the European Union Member State since 1 January 1993 more than 30 years after the cultural object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the requesting Member State.
2. Return proceedings may not be brought before a court of the Republic of Lithuania more than three years after the requesting European Union Member State became aware of the location of a cultural object, of the identity of its owner or possessor. The requesting Member State which requests the return of a cultural object must, alongside the document initiating proceedings, submit:
3. In the case of cultural objects forming part of public collections or belonging to inventories of ecclesiastical or other religious institutions in the European Union Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings brought by a European Union Member State shall be subject to a time-limit of 75 years after a cultural object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the requesting European Union Member State. Bilateral agreements concluded between the Republic of Lithuania and other European Union Member States may provide for a period exceeding 75 years to initiate return proceedings.
4. Return proceedings may not be brought if the removal of the cultural object from the territory of the requesting Member State is no longer unlawful at the time when they are to be initiated.
5. A court of the Republic of Lithuania shall take a decision to return an unlawfully removed cultural object to the requesting Member State and award to its owner and/or possessor such compensation from the requesting Member State which, according to the circumstances of the case, is considered fair if the owner and/or the possessor demonstrates that he exercised due care and attention in acquiring the cultural object. In determining whether the owner and/or the possessor exercised due care and attention, consideration shall be given to all the circumstances of the acquisition of the cultural object, in particular the documentation on the cultural object’s provenance, the authorisations for removal required under the law of the requesting Member State, the character of the owner and/or the possessor, the price paid, whether the owner and/or the possessor consulted any accessible register of stolen cultural objects and any relevant information which he could reasonably have obtained, or took any other step which a reasonable person would have taken in the circumstances. In the case of a donation or succession, the owner and/or the possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than the person from whom he acquired the cultural object by those means.
6. Payment of the fair compensation and of the expenses incurred in implementing a decision ordering the return of a cultural object and physically preserving it respectively shall be without prejudice to the requesting Member State’s right 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.
7. Ownership of the cultural object after return shall be governed by the law of the requesting Member State.
Article 17. Return of cultural objects to third countries and from third countries
Cultural objects unlawfully removed from third countries and located in the Republic of Lithuania shall be returned to third countries under bilateral agreements and international treaties to which the Republic of Lithuania and the third country requesting the return of cultural objects are parties. The cultural objects unlawfully removed from the Republic of Lithuania to third countries shall be returned under bilateral agreements and international treaties to which the Republic of Lithuania and the third country concerned are parties.
Article 18. Actions of the Ministry of Culture in implementing the return of cultural objects
1. The Ministry of Culture shall be the authorised institution of the Republic of Lithuania receiving requests of the European Union Member States and third countries referred to in Articles 16 and 17 of this Law concerning the return of unlawfully removed cultural objects.
2. With the exception of the cases when laws of the Republic of Lithuania or the international treaties whereto the Republic of Lithuania and the European Union Member State requesting the return of cultural objects are parties establish otherwise, the Ministry of Culture shall:
1) search, at the request of the requesting Member State, for the cultural object unlawfully removed from its territory, identifying its owner or possessor;
2) notify the interested states of the cultural object found in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, where there is a ground for believing that it has been unlawfully removed from the territory of a European Union Member State or a third country;
3) take, in cooperation with the requesting Member State, necessary measures to physically preserve an unlawfully removed cultural object;
4) enable the competent authorities of the requesting Member State to verify whether the movable item concerned is a cultural object, provided that the verification is carried out within six months from the receipt of the notification referred to in point 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article. If this verification is not carried out within the specified time limit, points 3 and 6 of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply.
6) take necessary measures to prevent any action aimed at avoiding the return procedure of a cultural object;
7) mediate to the requesting Member State and to the owner/possessor on the issues of return of cultural objects;
3. The Ministry of Culture shall have the right to claim from the requesting Member State or from a third country a compensation for the cultural objects to be returned to the requesting Member State or to the third country and listed in the inventories of museums, libraries and the National Documentary Fund.
4. The Ministry of Culture shall apply to an institution authorised by a European Union Member State or a third country for the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, inform that proceedings have been brought in order to ensure the return of the cultural object concerned, indicate the ground for the bringing of the proceedings and make arrangements regarding the return of the cultural objects. Following a decision of a court of the European Union Member State to return the unlawfully removed cultural object to the Republic of Lithuania and to award fair compensation to the current owner and/or possessor of the cultural object concerned, the Republic of Lithuania shall pay the compensation upon receipt of the unlawfully removed cultural object. The Republic of Lithuania shall also bear the costs of execution of a decision to return the unlawfully removed cultural object and the physical preservation of the unlawfully removed cultural object. The procedure for paying compensation for the return of unlawfully removed cultural objects shall be established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
5. The Ministry of Culture shall, in order to cooperate and consult the competent authorities of the European Union Member States, use a module of the Internal Market Information System (IMI) as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ 2012 L 316, p. 1) and tailored to cultural property.
6. The exchange of information shall be conducted using the IMI in accordance with the legal provisions on the protection of personal data and privacy laid down in the Law on Legal Protection of Personal Data.
Article 19. Liability for violation of the Law
Persons who have violated this Law shall be held liable under laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS
Annex to
the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Protection of Movable Cultural Property