Purchase option
If an application for the permanent export of cultural property of national significance is rejected by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Section 23 (6) et seqq. of the German Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG) provide for the initiation of proceedings aimed at clarifying whether a purchase option should be granted.
If the application for permanent export has been refused on the grounds of overriding significant interests of German cultural heritage, the owner can request consideration of the possibility of granting a purchase option. A procedure under the organizational leadership of the Cultural Foundation of the Länder is provided for by law; the main purposes of this Foundation (according to its by-laws) include promoting the acquisition of cultural objects that are particularly important for German culture and worthy of preservation.
The aim of this procedure is to clarify whether any (and if so which) German institution responsible for preserving cultural property could purchase the cultural object in question using funds supplied by public and private donors, with a view to putting it on public display. This process involves not only clarifying which institution might be interested in purchasing the object in keeping with the focus of its collections, but also the conditions under which a purchase of this kind might take place, with a particular focus on an appropriate price and suitable arrangements. The procedure does not create a legal obligation to purchase the object, however, and does not affect the decision to reject the export application.
If the owner of the cultural object whose export application has been rejected can prove that he or she is in economic hardship, the federal and Land authorities involved are, however, obliged to facilitate the appropriate framework conditions for purchase by a German institution responsible for preserving cultural property.
After the potential purchase arrangements have been clarified and a corresponding purchase offer from an institution responsible for preserving cultural property has been received, the owner is granted a six-month deadline to decide whether to accept the offer. If the owner rejects the offer, another export application can be submitted only after a waiting period of five years. The reason for this is that a new export application can be expected to deliver a different outcome on the basis of altered circumstances only after a certain period of time has elapsed.
Further details on the procedure can be found in the Guidance on the Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (available in German), from page 170 onwards.