UK cultural property legislation

In this resource the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) provides further guidance on the Human Tissue Act 2004.

The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 discourages crime by depriving criminals of the proceeds of their crimes and prevents the use of the financial system for money laundering.

The Export Control Act 2002 introduced provisions which enables controls to be imposed on the exportation of goods, the transfer of technology, the provision of technical assistance overseas and activities connected with trade in controlled goods.

The Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (Control) Order 2003 says that ‘all objects are prohibited to be exported to any destination except under the authority of a licence in writing granted by the Secretary of State, and in accordance with all the conditions attached to the licence.’

The Council Regulation No. 116/2009 adopted by the Council of the European Union prohibits the export of certain cultural goods from the territory of the EU without a valid licence. It gives a list of the categories of cultural objects covered by the Regulation.

The Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 makes it an offence to export or import goods with intent to evade a prohibition or restriction on those goods.

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 defines ‘scheduled monuments’ (sites that warrant protection) and makes damage to and metal detecting on scheduled monuments a criminal offence.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 simplifies the conviction of criminals suspected of money laundering and enables the recovery of proceeds of crime.

The Fraud Act 2006 defines the criminal offence of fraud and relates to obtaining property by deception. The Act gives a statutory definition of the criminal offence of fraud.

This resource from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides a summary of the Treasure Act. It acts as further guidance, outlining the provisions and scope of the Act and procedures for the acquisition and valuation of treasure.

The Export Control (Syria Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 2014 prohibits throughout the EU the import, export, transfer, or provision of brokering services for the import, export or transfer, of Syrian cultural property and other goods as specified in Article 11c of Council Regulation (EU) which have been illegally removed from Syria since 15 March 2011.

Article 8 of the Iraq (United Nations Sanctions) Order 2003 prohibits the importation or exportation of any cultural property illegally removed from Iraq since 6 August 1990. Clicking the link on this page will open this resource to view on the Legislation.gov.uk website.