Official Gazette of RS, No 71/94, 52/11 – other law, 92/11 – other law
CULTURAL PROPERTY LAW
Chapter I
BASIC PROVISIONS
Article 1
This Law shall regulate the system of the protection and use of cultural property and define conditions for the implementation of activities relating to the protection of cultural property.
Article 2
Cultural property shall include objects and products of material and spiritual culture of general interest placed under special protection determined by this Law.
Depending on its physical, artistic, cultural and historical features, cultural property shall include: cultural monuments, spatial cultural-historical units, archaeological sites and landmarks – immovable cultural property; works of art and history, archival material, film material and old and rare books – movable cultural property.
Depending on its importance, cultural property shall be classified into: cultural property, cultural property of great importance and cultural property of exceptional importance.
Article 3
Cultural property shall be designated in line with provisions of this Law.
A collection or fund of movable cultural property may also be designated as cultural property, provided they constitute a unit.
The protected environs of immovable cultural property shall enjoy the same protection as cultural property.
Article 4
Objects and products assumed to have the features of special importance for culture, art and history, shall enjoy protection in line with this Law (hereinafter: property under prior protection).
Article 5
Cultural property of exceptional importance shall meet at least one of the following criteria:
1) embody special importance for the social, historical and cultural development of a nation in national history, and the development of its natural environment
2) testify to crucial historical events and persons and their activities in national history
3) embody unique (rare) representation of human creativity of a certain period or represent a unique example from natural history
4) exert a strong influence on the development of society, culture, technology and science
5) possess an exceptional artistic or aesthetic value.
Cultural property of great importance shall meet at least one of the following criteria:
1) embody importance for a particular area or period
2) testify to social or natural phenomena and conditions of social-economic and cultural-historical development in certain periods
3) testify to important events and prominent persons from national history.
Article 6
Cultural property shall be entered in the cultural property register by type.
Cultural property registers shall be public.
Article 7
Cultural property and property under prior protection may not be damaged, destroyed nor its appearance, feature or purpose may be altered without consent, in line with this Law.
Article 8
The protection and use of cultural property shall be ensured by performing activities relating to cultural property protection, by taking administrative measures and other measures stipulated by this Law, as well as measures determined under this Law.
The protection of immovable cultural property and its protected environs and property under prior protection shall also be ensured based on regulations on spatial planning and development, construction of structures and environmental protection.
Article 9
The funds for the protection and use of cultural property shall be provided from the budget, in line with law.
Article 10
Activities relating to the protection and use of cultural property shall be performed by institutions established for that purpose (hereinafter: protection institutions), in line with this Law.
Article 11
Land, buildings, cultural property and other assets used by protection institutions established by the Republic, autonomous province, city and municipality, shall be used and handled by protection institutions in line with law.
Article 12
Property under prior protection, situated underground or in water, or taken out of earth or from water, shall be state-owned.
Article 13
State-owned cultural property may be given to another legal entity for keeping and use.
Immovable cultural property may be expropriated or ownership attached to it limited only with the aim of its more complete and efficient protection, provided this serves the general interest, in line with law.
Article 14
State-owned cultural property may be alienated under the terms stipulated by law.
The ownership right to state-owned cultural property may not be acquired by means of usucaption.
Article 15
Cultural property and property under prior protection may not be taken out of the country or exported, unless stipulated otherwise by this Law.
Article 16
Administrative and court fees prescribed by regulations of the Republic shall not be paid on petitions, decisions, complaints and other acts pertaining to the protection of cultural property.
Article 17
Archaeological excavations and research may be performed by protection institutions, in line with this Law.
Article 18
Provisions of this Law on rights and obligations of owners of cultural property shall also relate to other entities holding cultural property under any legal grounds.
CHAPTER II
TYPES OF CULTURAL PROPERTY AND PROPERTY UNDER PRIOR PROTECTION
1. Immovable cultural property
a) Cultural monument
Article 19
A cultural monument shall be a construction-architectural structure of special cultural or historical importance, and its construction unit, vernacular architecture, other immovable structure, part of a structure and a unit with features relating to particular environs, a work of monumental and decorative art, sculpture, applied arts and technical culture, as well as other movable objects contained in them, of special cultural and historical importance.
b) Spatial cultural-historical unit
Article 20
A spatial-cultural historical unit shall be an urban or rural settlement or its parts, and an area with several pieces of immovable cultural property of special cultural and historical importance.
c) Archaeological site
Article 21
An archaeological site shall be a part of land or an underwater area, containing remains of buildings and other immovable structures, tomb and other findings, and movable objects from earlier historical eras, which are of special cultural and historical importance.
d) Landmark
Article 22
A landmark shall be an area relating to an event of special historical importance, an area with prominent elements of natural values and values generated by human activity making up a single unit, and memorial tombs or cemeteries and other memorials erected to permanently preserve the memory of important events, persons and places from national history, of special cultural and historical importance.
2. Movable cultural property
a) Work of art and history
Article 23
A work of art and a historical object (hereinafter: work of art and history) shall be an object or a group of objects that have, separately or together, special importance for learning about the historical, cultural, scientific and technical development, about nature and its development, regardless of when and where they were created and whether they are situated in protection institutions or outside of them, as well as the documentation material accompanying such objects.
b) Archival material
Article 24
Archival material shall be original and reproduced, written, illustrated, computerised, printed, photographed, filmed, microfilmed, phonographed or otherwise recorded documentary material of special importance for science and culture, created in the course of operation of government bodies and organisations, bodies of territorial autonomy and local government units, political organisations and their bodies, institutions and other organisations, religious communities and individuals, regardless of when and where it was created or whether it is situated in protection institutions or outside of them.
c) Film material
Article 25
Film material shall consist of original film material (original picture negative and tone negative) and a film copy, original and copy of a videotape and other carriers of registered motion picture recordings, regardless of the filming technique and of when and where they were created, as well as the accompanying film material (a script, storyboard, dialogue list, film poster, film photographs, decor and costume sketches, music notation, film music, advertising publications and other documents created before, during and after filming).
d) Old and rare book
Article 26
An old and rare book shall include: manuscripts, handwritten and printed books, periodicals and other library material created until the end of 1867, rare books, specimens of periodical editions and other rare library material created after 1867, library material submitted, under this Law, to an authorised library as an obligatory copy and documentation on such material, as well as special library lots important for science and culture owing to their content, artistic, cultural and historical value.
3. Property under prior protection
Article 27
Under prior protection based on this Law shall be:
1) necropoles and locations with archaeological, historical, ethnological or nature-related content; old cores of towns and settlements; construction structures, units and parts of construction structures with historical or architectural values; monuments and memorials dedicated to important events and persons; houses where meritorious or prominent persons were born or worked, together with objects belonging to them; buildings and places in nature relating to important historical events
2) materials, computer, film or video records; motion pictures, texts and clips of TV programmes, photographic and phonographic shots, and records and documents differently produced; books and card-index cabinets containing records of such materials, including records and documents, texts and clips of radio programmes, and microfilms on them, received and created in the course of operation of government bodies and organisations, bodies of territorial autonomy and local government units, institutions, other organisations and religious communities, while being important for their current operation or until archival material has been selected in line with this Law (hereinafter: active records);
3) works of art and applied art, archaeological and ethnographic objects and objects from nature, money, postage stamps, medals, unique, rare or historically important objects of technical culture, music instruments and other similar objects older than 50 years; objects, books, documents, letters, manuscripts and other written and reproduced material or film and magnetic records; motion pictures, photographed and phonographed material relating to historical events and the work of prominent and meritorious persons in all segments of social life, regardless of the time and place of creation.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia may designate other immovable and movable property under prior protection.
Article 28
A person who digs out of earth or takes from water property under prior protection outside of organised research shall immediately, within 24 hours at the latest, inform thereof a competent cultural property protection institution and the ministry responsible for interior affairs.
The finder of objects from paragraph 1 hereof shall be entitled to a financial reward, provided budgetary funds were not used in the discovery.
The amount of reward from paragraph 2 hereof shall be determined by the protection institution designated to keep the object.
Article 29
A protection institution shall record property under prior protection.
A protection institution shall within 30 days from recording immovable property under prior protection inform thereof the owner or the legal entity using and managing such property, and the municipality.
Protection measures determined by this Law shall apply to immovable property recorded to be under prior protection.
A protection institution shall within two years establish whether the recorded immovable property has the features of a monument and shall propose within that period the designation of such immovable property as cultural property. If the recorded immovable property has not been designated as cultural property within three years from the day of recording, it shall not be subject to protection measures determined by this Law.
Chapter III
RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OWNERS AND LEGAL ENTITIES USING AND MANAGING CULTURAL PROPERTY AND PPOPERTY UNDER PRIOR PROTECTION
1. Owner’s rights
Article 30
An owner or legal entity using and managing cultural property (hereinafter: owner) is entitled to:
1) use cultural property in the manner stipulated by this Law and measures established based on it
2) fair reimbursement in case of prohibition or limitation of use of cultural property, and
3) payment of damages suffered due to a measure ensuring public availability of cultural property.
The amount of damages from paragraph 1, item 3) hereof shall be established by mutual agreement, in line with rules of property law. In the event of a dispute, the amount of damages shall be established by a competent court in extrajudicial proceedings.
The owner is entitled to the payment of damages suffered in the course of implementation of technical protection measures on cultural property.
2. Owner’s obligations and responsibilities
Article 31
The owner shall:
1) keep and maintain cultural property and implement the determined protection measures
2) immediately inform a protection institution of all legal and physical changes occurring in relation to cultural property
3) allow scientific and professional research, technical and other recording, and implementation of technical protection measures on cultural property, in line with this Law, and
4) ensure public availability of cultural property.
The owner shall bear the costs of settling obligations from paragraph 1, item 1) hereof up to the level of revenue generated from cultural property.
Article 32
The owner shall not:
1) use cultural property for purposes inconsistent with its nature, purpose and importance, or in the manner that may cause damage to cultural property
2) dig up, pull down, alter, rebuild, refashion or carry out any works that may jeopardise the features of cultural property without determined conditions and without the consent of the competent authority, and
3) fragment collections and funds of cultural property without determined conditions and without the consent of the competent protection institution.
Article 33
If the owner fails to implement protection measures or fails to implement them with the care of bonus pater familias, or if he temporarily or permanently leaves cultural property and thus exposes it to the threat of being damaged or destroyed, the ministry responsible for culture may decide that cultural property be delivered for guardianship to a natural or legal person, with his consent, for the purpose of implementing cultural property protection measures.
The act from paragraph 1 hereof shall set the guardian’s rights and obligations.
The guardian implementing cultural property protection measures shall be entitled, at his request, to compensation for work and costs of implementing the determined cultural property protection measures.
Article 34
In the event of sale of privately-owned cultural property in which budgetary funds were invested for the purposes of its maintenance, repair and implementation of other technical protection measures, the owner shall reimburse the amount by which, due to investment, the value of cultural property increased.
Mortgage shall be placed on immovable cultural property from paragraph 1 hereof until the settlement of obligation.
3. Other limitations of the right of ownership and use of cultural property
Article 35
The owner shall lend cultural property for the purposes of its exhibition at exhibitions organised based on agreements on international cultural cooperation or other important occasional exhibitions, unless otherwise stipulated by law.
Cultural property borrowed under paragraph 1 hereof must be returned to the owner within six months from the day of taking such property for the purposes of exhibition, unless agreed otherwise.
If the owner refuses to lend cultural property for the purposes of exhibition, under paragraph 1 hereof, the exhibition organiser may secure in extrajudicial proceedings that cultural property be borrowed for these purposes.
If a protection institution refuses to lend cultural property that it keeps for the purposes from paragraph 1 hereof, the ministry responsible for culture shall decide on lending.
4. Obligations of owner of property under prior protection
Article 36
The owner shall:
1) report property to a competent protection institution and submit to it the requested data
2) keep, maintain and use property in line with its nature and purpose
3) allow a protection institution to inspect property and take necessary data for compiling documentation on such property, and
4) obtain conditions for taking technical protection measures and the consent of the competent protection institution in regard to taking measures and executing works on property that may alter its appearance, shape or purpose, or jeopardise its features.
5. Obligations of bodies, institutions, enterprises and other legal entities during whose operation active records and archival material are created
Article 37
Government bodies and organisations, bodies of territorial autonomy and local government units, institutions, enterprises and other legal entities during whose operation active records are created shall:
1) label and date active records and keep their basic files
2) keep active records in an arranged and safe condition
3) classify and archive active records, and
4) select archival material and segregate worthless active records during a year from expiry of the established keeping deadline.
Segregated worthless active records may be destroyed only upon the written approval of the competent archival office.
Article 38
Government bodies and organisations, bodies of territorial autonomy and local government units, institutions, enterprises and other legal entities shall establish:
1) the manner of filing active records, their maintenance, classification and archiving, unless otherwise stipulated by law for some bodies and organisations
2) the lists of categories of active records with keeping deadlines, and
3) the manner of protecting and using data and documents created during automatic data processing.
The lists of categories of active records with keeping deadlines shall be determined in agreement with the competent archival office.
Article 39
Arranged and catalogued archival material shall be delivered for keeping to a competent archival office after 30 years as of the day it was created.
A protection institution may decide on delivering archival material after 30 years, each fifth year.