General due diligence requirements for placing on the market
The general due diligence requirements are set out in Section 41 of the Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG). Anyone who places cultural property on the market must check whether the property in question has been lost (no. 1), unlawfully imported (no. 2) or unlawfully excavated (no. 3).
According to Section 41 (2) KGSG, the measure of due diligence is deemed to be that exercised by a reasonable person. Generally speaking, active due diligence is required only where the circumstances of a given case lead, or should lead, the owner to assume that one of the cases described in Section 41 (1) nos. 1 to 3 KGSG obtains. The Act gives as an example a situation in which the previous owner demanded an implausibly low price or payment in cash of a purchase price exceeding EUR 5,000.
According to Section 41 (3) KGSG exercising due diligence includes
verifying relevant information that can be obtained with reasonable effort or carrying out any other examination that a reasonable person would carry out under similar circumstances related to the placing on the market.
If it is, however, not obvious for the party in question that one of the circumstances referred to in Section 41 (1) nos. 1 to 3 KGSG might be present and if there is no reason for realizing that this is the case as a result of the circumstances under which the cultural property is acquired, no checks need to be carried out.