Eligibility for protection of public collections
The German Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG) confers special protection upon collections held by publicly funded institutions responsible for preserving cultural property. Private loans by artists and creative minds may also be eligible for protection of this kind.
Section 6 (2) KGSG grants artists and creative minds the option of benefitting from the special protection conferred by law upon collections pursuant to Section 6 KGSG for the period during which their works are on loan to a publicly financed museum, provided that the artist still owns the work and provided that a corresponding declaration of consent – which can be revoked at any time during the term of the loan – is issued.
The main aim of granting temporary eligibility for the protection conferred upon public collections is to provide convenient options under the legislation on cross-border protection of cultural property to initiate return proceedings for objects taken to another country after being lost from a collection – either as a result of theft or because another (authorized) loan has not been returned. In such cases, Germany is able to initiate return proceedings under international or EU law. This option exists alongside the option of initiating proceedings based on the right of ownership, but offers three benefits:
- the period of limitation is 75 years, which is significantly longer than the 30-year period for return proceedings based on the right of ownership;
- the return proceedings can be initiated irrespective of whether the object has been acquired by a third party in the meantime; and
- the proceedings in the other country are initiated by the Federal Republic of Germany on behalf of the owner.
Further information on the protection conferred by law upon public collections can be found in the section on National cultural property.
A selection of information targeted specifically at lenders can be found in the section on Collectors.