Η αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης διακίνησης πολιτιστικών αγαθών στο εθνικό, ευρωπαϊκό και διεθνές δίκαιο, καθώς και στην ελληνική διοικητική πρακτική

Abstract

This paper examines the treatment of illicit trafficking of cultural property in the context of international, european and national law as well as by the greek public administration. Illegal trafficking of cultural property is a well-known international form of organized crime linked to other forms of criminal activities, such as drug and arms smuggling. The international network of illicit trade of cultural goods contributes to money laundering of the aforementioned criminal activities and is often linked to the activity of the legal art market as well as of the museums. After a brief presentation of the way the illegal circuit acts, we examine two international legal documents that attempt to suppress the illicit trafficking of cultural goods: the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which consists a milestone in the protection of world cultural heritage, and the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Property, an important legal text that came as a complement to the aforementioned UNESCO Convention. In european level, we examine two Directives that attempt to deal with the return of cultural goods unlawfully removed from the territory of a member state. As regards the treatment of the subject by the greek legal order, we examine the relevant provisions of Law 3028/2002 "For the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in general" as well as the provisions of Law 3658/2008 "Measures for the Protection of Cultural Goods and Other Provisions". The examination of the legal framework is followed by a presentation of the action of the greek public administration: firstly, we describe the administrative procedures concerning a request for the return of a stolen or illegally removed ancient movable monument, secondly we present four known cases of repatriation of ancient monuments and, finally, proposals are made to improve the action of the administration.