RETURN OF CULTURAL OBJECTS 
UNLAWFULLY REMOVED FROM THE 
TERRITORY OF A MEMBER STATE OF THE 
EUROPEAN UNION [ S.L.445.04 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 445.04
RETURN OF CULTURAL OBJECTS UNLAWFULLY 
REMOVED FROM THE TERRITORY OF A 
MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
REGULATIONS
9th September, 2003
LEGAL NOTICE 246 of 2003.
Citation.
Objects unlawfully removed from the Territory of a Member State
of the European Union Regulations.
Interpretation.
Cap. 445.
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.
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 1st
January, 1993.
Return of cultural 
objects.
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.
Appointed 
authority.
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.
2 [ S.L.445.04
RETURN OF CULTURAL OBJECTS 
UNLAWFULLY REMOVED FROM THE 
TERRITORY OF A MEMBER STATE OF THE 
EUROPEAN UNION
Movement in 
contravention of 
laws of requesting 
Member State.
6. Any movement of cultural property or cultural heritage,
even if temporary, is illegal if effected in contravention of the
provisions of the Directive or of the laws of the requesting Member
State.
Proceedings before 
competent court.
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, 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.
Return of object to 
requesting Member 
State.
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) 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.
National laws of 
Member States.
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, or by 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.
Civil law status. 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 these regulations may
not be brought more than one year after the requesting Member
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
RETURN OF CULTURAL OBJECTS 
UNLAWFULLY REMOVED FROM THE 
TERRITORY OF A MEMBER STATE OF THE 
EUROPEAN UNION [ S.L.445.04 3
territory of the requesting Member State. However, in the case of
objects forming part of public collections listed in the inventories
of museums, archives and, 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 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 years.
(4) Return proceedings may not be brought if the remova1 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.
Manner of 
proceedings.
11. (1) Proceedings may only be brought following a written
request by a Member State.
(2) Such request has to be accompanied by:
( a ) 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.
Central authorities.
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.
Superintendence to 
keep register.
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.
Other duties of 
superintendence.
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), the good becomes the property of the State who
is obliged to conserve it and make the most profitable use of it
possible.
