The export of cultural property abroad is a popular practice among various museums, universities and other institutions, one of the goals of which is the exchange of cultural experience and the demonstration of values. But the non-return of the exported items is strictly punished according to the norms of criminal law.
Legislation relating to Art. 190 of the Criminal Code
In addition to the norms of criminal law, the procedure for handling cultural property abroad is determined by the following federal acts:
- Law of the Russian Federation No. 4804-1 of April 15, 1993, regulating the import and export of cultural property.
- Order No. 17 of March 14, 2008, issued by the Federal Service, which oversees the field of mass communications, as well as the communication and protection of cultural heritage. This order regulates the export and import of valuables.
The essence of the crime
The criminal legislation of the Russian Federation (Article 190) is a crime that is the reason for bringing to criminal responsibility, considers failure to return cultural objects of special value to Russian territory within a certain period of time, if this return was mandatory.
When identifying the guilty person, they should be charged and sentenced to one of the following types of punishment:
- forced labor, the maximum period of which is five years;
- to imprisonment, the maximum term of which is eight years;
- to pay a fine (additional optional punishment), the amount of which may reach one million in rubles, or calculated within the five-year earnings of the convict.
Explanations for the article
According to Art. 190, the corpus delicti includes the subject, subjective and objective parties, and the object of a criminal assault.
The subject of a crime is a person who is authorized to export cultural valuable objects and is obliged to return from back. This may be the curator of the museum, a citizen using these items for personal purposes, etc.
The subjective side of the offense referred to in Article. 190, is only a direct intent intent.
The object of a crime is the legislatively established procedure for the export of cultural property from Russia and their return to their homeland, including objects of archaeological, historical or artistic heritage of Russian citizens and foreigners.
The objective side of a criminal offense is the non-return at a certain time of objects of cultural value, if the subject is obliged to return them to Russia.
The moment of the end of the crime committed under Art. 190, is the expiration of the period within which the exported cultural valuable objects were to be returned.
Sources of Crime Information
The legislation defines a circle of persons who are obliged to immediately report that they have information about a committed or imminent crime in relation to the non-return of exported values to Russia. The message may contain information about the signs of a committed or planned crime and so on.
Statement of perfect under Art. 190 crimes are required to file the following persons:
- Owners of values, representatives of owners of values.
- Heads of institutions (museums at the state or municipal levels, galleries, etc.) that own objects of cultural value, on the basis of operational management.
- Heads of supervisory or control and audit bodies that verify the availability of cultural property in specific cultural institutions, or with individuals (legal entities) who own such items.
- The leaders of Rosokhrankultura (territorial bodies) who issued a certificate of the right to export cultural property for a certain time.
- Researchers who are custodians of funds, as well as other employees of the cultural institution where valuables were stored until they were exported.
Crimes related to objects that are recognized as cultural property are punished extremely severely. Therefore, the safety and timely return of items to the country are strictly monitored.