International and transnational conditions of penalization of illegal export of cultural property from the territory of a legitimate state

Abstract

This article discusses the issue of international and supranational conditions of criminalization of illegal export of a cultural object from the territory of an authorized state. The text is divided into four parts. The first is introductory in nature, indicating the acts of international law that have been developed in order to prohibit the illegal export of cultural goods abroad and to combat the functioning of the illegal art market. In particular, on the one hand, it is pointed out that it was necessary to introduce mechanisms into internal control systems to prevent illegal export of cultural goods. On the other hand, the importance of national protection measures adopted in order to counteract the acquisition of cultural goods illegally removed from the territory of another state is emphasized. Attention is paid to the crime of theft, falsification of documents, fencing, and illegal trade in cultural goods, especially their import, export, and marketing, related to the crime of illegal export of cultural goods. The instruments are indicated that have been adopted within the framework of cooperation between EU Member States in order to counteract the illegal export of cultural goods. 

Detailed comments on counteracting the illegal export of cultural goods from the territory of the authorized state between the EU Member States are discussed in the second part of the article under the title: A model approach to penalizing the act of illegal export of national cultural goods from the territory of a Member State on the basis of European Union law. 

The third part of the article covers the analysis of the problem of illegal export of a cultural object from the territory of a Member State from the perspective of national law. The discussion focuses primarily on the conditions for determining the individual legal liability of the perpetrator of the illegal export of a cultural object and the type and amount of the penalty imposed as a result of such behavior. The article ends with a fourth part, in which final conclusions are formulated. The key factor is the statement that the contemporary rational legislator, in order to work out optimal legal protection, cannot be limited only to taking into account the patterns functioning within the national legal order. In this context, the significance of the unification function of law increases. This allows the introduction of uniform standards of protection, thanks to which the protection of cultural goods against illegal export beyond the borders of the authorized state is strengthened on an international and supranational scale.