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What it is

How Spain recovers cultural objects taken out of the country illegally

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 18 November 2016. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on the restitution of cultural property that has illegally left Spanish territory or that of another European Union member state, by which Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 15, 2014, is incorporated into Spanish law.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000001· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law regulates the return of cultural objects that left Spanish territory illegally and are in another European Union member state, and also claims before Spanish courts for objects that left another member state illegally and are in Spain.
  2. The Secretaría de Estado de Cultura acts as the central authority: it searches for missing objects, reports findings, protects the objects and acts as an intermediary between the holder and the claiming state.
  3. Cooperation with the authorities of other member states takes place through the Internal Market Information System (IMI), respecting personal data protection.
  4. Only member states can claim restitution, against the possessor or the holder of the object, and the claim is limited to returning the object, with no other civil or criminal claims.
  5. The restitution claim expires three years after the claiming state learns where the object is and who has it, with a general limit of thirty years from the illegal removal. For public collections and protected religious institution objects the period is seventy-five years.
  6. If it is proven that the object is a cultural object and that it left illegally, the judge orders its return. A good-faith possessor who shows due diligence receives fair compensation, which the claiming state must pay once the ruling is final.

Who it affects

  • European Union member states claiming cultural objects removed illegally from their territory: They can bring a restitution claim before Spanish courts if the object is in Spain.
  • Possessors and holders of claimed cultural objects: They can be sued to return the object, though they may receive compensation if they acted in good faith.
  • Secretaría de Estado de Cultura: Acts as the central authority and coordinates the search, protection and return of the objects.
  • Civil judges: Hear these claims, which follow the rules for verbal trials with special features.

Words worth knowing

Restitución (restitution)
Physical return of the cultural object to the territory of the claiming state.
Poseedor (possessor)
Person who has the cultural object for themselves.
Tenedor (holder)
Person who has the cultural object on behalf of someone else.
Prescribir (statute of limitations)
The right to claim is lost after a certain period of time.
Diligencia debida (due diligence)
Reasonable care when buying an object, such as checking stolen-object registries or reviewing its provenance.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced18 November 2016Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted22 November 2016The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments25 November 2016Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee17 February 2017A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate1 March 2017The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE5 April 2017It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 8 official steps on a timeline
Nov 2016Dec 2016Jan 2017Feb 2017Mar 201711. 18 November 2016: Presentación22. 22 November 2016: Comisión de Cultura Publicación desde 22/11/2016 hasta 25/11/201633. 22 November 2016: Calificación44. 25 November 2016: Comisión de Cultura Enmiendas desde 25/11/2016 hasta 17/02/201755. 17 February 2017: Comisión de Cultura Informe desde 17/02/2017 hasta 22/02/201766. 22 February 2017: Comisión de Cultura Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 22/02/2017 hasta 01/03/201777. 1 March 2017: Senado desde 01/03/2017 hasta 05/04/201788. 5 April 2017: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 05/04/2017 hasta 16/05/2017

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Law 1/2017, of April 18, on the restitution of cultural property that has illegally left the territory of Spain or of another Member State of the European Union, by which Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 15, 2014, is incorporated into Spanish law.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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