On February 2 of this year, amendments to the Criminal Law came into force, which allow imposing a two-year prison sentence on anyone who has an item of cultural value or antique in their home, car or coat pocket - paintings, tea sets, books, weapons, coins, stamps.
The authors of the law have also tried to incorporate humanitarian features into the text. A separate section provides a way to avoid prison: quickly go to the competent authorities to hand over your valuables to the state.
The problem is that there are no clear criteria for assessing whether an object at home corresponds to what is defined in the law by the terms “cultural objects” and “state-protected antiquities”. Neatkarīgā could not find a detailed list of “cultural objects” and “state-protected antiquities” protected by the amendments to the law in public sources. Regulations Regarding Exportation of Cultural Monuments, Including State-owned Antiquities, Art and Antique Articles from Latvia and Importation Thereof into Latvia present a very wide range of “cultural objects”: archaeological objects dating back to the 17th century (inclusive); more than 100 years old fragments of the cultural object which form an integral part of an artistic, historical or religious monument; incunabula and more than 100 years old manuscripts, including geographical maps and musical scores (singly or in collections); archives of various kinds which contain more than 100 years old copies (regardless of the material); more than 100 years old books (singly or in collections); more than 75 years old means of transport; collections of historical, palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic value; more than 100 years old art and antique articles; paintings and drawings executed by hand on any material and in any technique; original engravings, prints, serigraphs and lithographs with their respective plates and original posters; original sculptures or statuary (including their copies produced by the same process as the original); photographs, films and negatives thereof; glassware; articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares; furniture; optical devices and apparatuses, photographic and cinematographic apparatuses and devices; music instruments; clocks and parts thereof; articles of wood; ceramics; tapestries, carpets, textiles; wallpaper; arms.
In turn, the Law On Protection of Cultural Monuments lists the following antique objects that may be under state protection: archaeological finds, antiquities, elements of immovable monuments, historical relics, works of art, manuscripts, rare printed matter, cinema documents, photo-documents and video-documents, phonograms.
In the absence of an exact list of items that are not allowed to be stored, everyone has to decide for themselves which is closer to their heart - prison sentence or an Ulmanis-era bicycle, motorcycle, painting, tea set, coin, etc.
Māris Žilinskis, Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Division of the State Police Main Criminal Police Department, spoke succinctly on the lvportals.lv about police being able to deal with antique connoisseurs and collectors shortly before storing antiques became a criminal action: "If before the adoption of the amendments the investigation needed to establish and prove the fact of destruction and looting of ancient cemeteries, then now it will be possible to be prosecuted just by proving the fact of keeping antiques."
The latest amendments to the law have been drafted by Maija Bidiņa, a lawyer at the Ministry of Justice, and approved by Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns and Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. They were submitted to the Saeima for approval in May last year.
At the Saeima plenary session last September, the head of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee Rihards Kols (National Alliance, Nacionālā apvienība) pointed out that the amendments are related to the draft law On the Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property: “The Convention defines the cultural property to be protected and provides for the criminalization of criminal offenses such as theft of cultural property and other forms of misappropriation, including rules on the initiation of criminal proceedings, investigations and international co-operation in criminal matters, as well as preventive and other measures. Most of the norms of the convention comply with the Latvian regulatory framework, however, the convention includes certain norms, the provisions of which are not currently regulated in the Latvian regulatory enactments, or those that would need to be improved. It is therefore planned to amend Sections 229, 221.1 and 277 of the Criminal Law.” R. Kols reassured the deputies that “the National Heritage Board has developed material on the prevention of illicit trafficking in art and antiques, together with guidelines for due diligence when purchasing cultural objects. There will also be separate materials for art and antiques market participants, which also includes guidelines for the agenda when purchasing cultural items, as well as ethical principles for art and antiques dealers and informative material for law enforcement authorities on preventing the illegal circulation of art and antiques.”
Ritvars Jansons, a party colleague of R. Kols, continued to push the amendments to the law related to antiquities in the Saeima. The information he provided about the criminalization of the storage and transfer of antiques was even more concise: “Very honorable Speaker of the Saeima! Dear colleagues! This Bill on Amendments to the Criminal Code, which the Legal Affairs Committee has supported at first reading, is in conjunction with the Bill on the Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property, which you have just supported. ...As the representative of the drafter of the law - the Ministry of Justice - noted in the commission, for the most part, the Latvian regulatory framework already complies with the norms of the convention. Adopting these amendments to the law would ensure full compliance.”
None of the other 88 MEPs present considered it necessary to go into more detail on the bill. At first reading, it was voted unanimously "88 in favor, 0 against and 0 abstentions". Similarly, there was no debate in the second and third readings of the bill. Members voted unanimously in favor.
The annotation of the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Justice states that no interest and reaction from the public about the proposed amendments to the law has been recorded: "Public opinions on the draft law were not received within the framework of organized public participation." The annotation explains that the ministry has allowed the public to express their opinion - the draft amendments to the law have been available for public discussion on the websites of both the ministry and the State Chancellery but have not received a public response.
Among other things, Neatkarīgā, following R. Kols' instructions, tried to find out on the website of the National Heritage Board exactly what items the population should get rid of by handing them over to the state. Nothing was found there about the guidelines and ethical principles mentioned by the deputy for dealers of art and antiques.
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The following sections of the Criminal Law have been in force since 2 February this year:
Section 229. Illegal Actions Involving Cultural Objects
(1) For illegal storage, transfer, transfer, alienation or illegal export outside the Republic of Latvia or import into the Republic of Latvia of a cultural object, i.e. a cultural monument, museum collection object or specially protected library collection document protected by the Republic of Latvia or another state, if substantial harm has been caused - the applicable punishment is the deprivation of liberty for a period of up to two years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
(2) For the destruction, damaging or desecration of a cultural object - the applicable punishment is the deprivation of liberty for a period of up to three years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
Section 229.' Illegal Actions Involving Antiquities
(1) For the illegal obtaining, storage, movement, forwarding, alienation or illegal export outside the Republic of Latvia or import into the Republic of Latvia of an antiquity under the protection of the Republic of Latvia which is not in the museum collection or another state-protected antiquity - the applicable punishment is the deprivation of liberty for a period of up to one year or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
(2) For the destruction or damage of an antiquity under the protection of the Republic of Latvia which is not in the museum collection or an antique under the protection of another state - the applicable punishment is the deprivation of liberty for a period of up to two years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
Section 229.'' Release of a Person from Criminal Liability for Illegal Obtaining, Storage, Movement, and Forwarding of Antiquities
A person who has voluntarily transferred an illegally obtained, stored, moved or forwarded antiquity under the protection of the Republic of Latvia which is not in the museum collection or an antiquity under the protection of another state shall be released from criminal liability for illegal obtaining, storage, movement, and forwarding of an antiquity under the protection of the Republic of Latvia.
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