The Export Regime for Cultural Objects under the German Cultural Property Protection Act of 2016
The Export Regime for Cultural Objects under the German Cultural Property Protection Act of 2016

Summary/Abstract: This paper elaborates upon the German Cultural Property Protection Act, enacted in 2016. It enabled the transition from German cultural property law being scattered in many individual legal acts into one uniform and coherent Act. The paper first describes the two pillars of the new Act, the first pillar being the prevention of illicit trade in cultural property. It then continues to analyse the second pillar of the law, which is devoted to the protection of property being part of the German national cultural heritage from illegally leaving German territory. After examining the critical voices with respect to different aspects of the new Act, the article focuses on the export regime and its challenges for the art trade. In its last part, the paper describes and analyses case law under the old German cultural property regime and draws conclusions as to possible interpretations of the new Act on the ground of the already existing jurisprudence.

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