Ukraine
The UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970 was ratified by Ukraine with declaration by Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic No. 5396-XI of 10.02.1988.
The export of cultural property is mainly regulated by the following national legal acts:
- Law of Ukraine No. 1068-XIV of 21.09.1999 "On Exportation, Importation and Restiution of Cultural Values", amended 13.02.2020;
- Custom Code of Ukraine No. 4495-VI of 13.03.2012, amanded 16.04.2022;
- Decree N. 984 of 20.06.2000 "On approval of the form of certification on the right of exportation (temporary exportation) of cultural values from the territory of Ukraine";
- Law of Ukraine No. 3814-XII of 24.12.1993 "On the National Archive Funds and Archive Institutions";
- Law of Ukraine No. 32/95-BP of 27.01.1995 "On Libraries and Librarianship";
- Law of Ukraine No. 5203-VI of 06.09.2012 "On Administration Services" (which repealed the Decree of the Minister of Culture of Ukraine No. 258 of 22.04.2002 "Instruction on the registration of export and temporary export of cultural values, and monitoring their movement across the state border of Ukraine", registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine under No. 571/6859 on 09.07.2002), amended by the Law No. 2024-IX of 27.01.2022;
The multilingual UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws provides access to the relevant national legal bases. Another source of information on national cultural asset protection laws is the Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws On Crime (SHERLOC) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Connected with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, in addition to the export bans already implemented by law (see below under "Export bans"), reference is made to a general export ban on cultural property that has been reported as stolen. This applies in particular to museum objects and archival documents that are marked with appropriate preservation measures such as inventory numbers, stamps, etc.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has provided a database of items reported as stolen. Separate registration before using this database is not necessary. In addition, a search can be made in the Interpol database, but prior registration is required.
Please be aware: certain cultural goods belonging to the cultural heritage of this state are included in object categories of the so called Emergency Red List for Cultural Objects at risk Ukraine of the particularly endangered cultural heritage by the International Council of Museums ICOM.