The agreement on cooperation of the State Parties of the Commonwealth of Independent States in fight against plunders of cultural values and ensuring their return

of October 5, 2007

The State Parties of the Commonwealth Independent Gosudarstvuchastniki of this agreement, hereinafter referred to as with the Parties,

noting that plunders of cultural values irrespective of form of their property cause significant damage to preserving cultural heritage of the Parties,

expressing concern that plunders of cultural values acquired transnational nature,

recognizing that effective fight against plunders of cultural values is possible only on the basis of interaction of all concerned parties,

realizing need of implementation of agreed measures for prevention of plunders of cultural values and ensuring their return,

being guided by international treaties in this sphere which participants are the Parties, and also the national legal system,

agreed as follows:

Article 1

For the purposes of this agreement the following terms are used:

cultural values - objects and/or collections of religious or secular nature, and also their components or fragments, irrespective of time of their creation, considered by each of the Parties as representing value for culture, archeology, history, literature, art or sciences;

plunder of cultural values - any illegal act directed to the occupancy by cultural values attracting responsibility according to the legislation of the Parties;

the stolen cultural values - cultural values concerning which there are bases to assume that they are plunder objects;

the central competent authority - state body of the Party, authorized to coordinate activities of competent authorities of the Party within this agreement;

competent authority - the state body of the Party authorized according to its legislation to perform and/or organize operational search activities for identification, the prevention, suppression and disclosure of the crimes connected with cultural values and/or to perform search of the stolen cultural values, and/or to render assistance to owners of cultural values in recovery of their rights to these values in case of illegal export, import and transfer of property on them, and/or to promote return of cultural values in case of illegal export, and/or to register the detainees withdrawn, confiscated or arrested cultural values, to register the facts of loss, loss, plunder of cultural values, and/or to send according to this agreement inquiries about return of kidnapped persons of cultural values, and/or to make decisions on their return;

safety of cultural values - preserving cultural values with observance of necessary requirements to their storage before execution of the decision of competent authority of the required Party on return or to the solution of question of unclaimed cultural value;

the owner of cultural values - the legal entity or physical person having rights of possession, uses and orders of these cultural values;

return of the stolen cultural values - transfer according to the decision of competent authority of the required Party of cultural values to competent authority of the requesting Party.

Article 2

1. The parties according to this agreement perform cooperation through the competent authorities in the prevention, suppression, identification, disclosure of the offenses connected with plunder of cultural values, their search and ensuring return.

2. The list of competent authorities with indication of the central competent authority is determined by each Party and transferred to depositary in case of delivery of the notification on accomplishment of the interstate procedures necessary for the introduction of this agreement to force.

Each of the Parties within a month in writing notifies depositary on changes in the list of competent authorities.

Article 3

The parties perform cooperation in the following main directions:

a) enhancement of the regulatory legal base of cooperation of the Parties in fight against plunders of cultural values and ensuring their return, harmonization of the legislation of the Parties in this area;

b) implementation of agreed measures for accomplishment of provisions of the universal and regional international treaties directed to fight against plunders of cultural values which participants the Parties are;

c) the analysis of condition and dynamics of the crime connected with plunders of cultural values, and results of fight against it;

d) enhancement of mechanisms of interaction of law enforcement and other agencies for acceptance of agreed measures on counteraction to plunders of cultural values and ensuring their search and return;

e) holding the relevant activities concerning legal entities and physical persons in the presence of the bases to believe about their possible participation in plunders of cultural values.

Article 4

1. The parties perform cooperation in the following main forms:

a) exchange of operational, criminalistic, statistical and other information, including data on the preparing and committed offenses and legal entities and physical persons, involved in them;

b) execution of requests about conducting investigation and search operations;

c) planning and implementation coordinated preventive and investigation and search operations;

d) exchange of regulatory legal acts, publications and scientific and methodical materials;

e) work experience exchange, carrying out working meetings, consultations, meetings, practical conferences and seminars, and also joint scientific research;

e) development and implementation of agreed measures of the prevention and suppression of use of open telecommunication networks for the purpose of sale of the stolen cultural values;

g) rendering assistance in training and advanced training of specialists;

h) development and deployment of new methods of marking of cultural values.

2. This agreement does not raise the questions of rendering legal assistance on criminal cases and extradition.

Article 5

Each of the Parties:

1. Takes all necessary measures for:

a) establishments and providing procedure for import and export of cultural values, and also implementation of any transactions in the territory concerning such cultural values;

b) prevention, suppression and disclosure of the offenses connected with plunder, acquisition, sale, illegal import and export of cultural values, carrying out illegal excavation and implementation of other illegal transactions concerning cultural values;

c) ensuring recognition unfair the buyer who was obviously knowing that the cultural values acquired by it are kidnapped persons or illegally imported;

d) photofixing and the hidden marking of the cultural values which are in state-owned property.

2. Establishes and applies sanctions against the legal entities and physical persons which made or involved in the offenses connected with plunder, acquisition, sale, illegal import and export of cultural values, carrying out illegal excavation and implementation of other illegal transactions concerning cultural values.

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