Katarzyna Zalasińska

The Polish MOW Register as a tool for preserving documentary heritage

The most recognized means of sharing and disseminating knowledge of documentary heritage elements are the registers (lists) operating under UNESCO’s Memory of the World Program. Material and procedural conditions, in conjunction with the values underlying the UNESCO Memory of the World Program, determine the degree to which the goal of ensuring accessibility, as well as the promotion and dissemination of elements of documentary heritage, is achieved. In this regard, an important role is played by lists operating at the national level, providing the widest access to information on documentary heritage. The purpose of the article is also to consider the legal nature and to refer to the current discussion on the legitimacy of the introduction and shape of the procedure for entry on the national list.

Forty years after the Convention on Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization gathered in Paris between 12 October and 14 November 1970 is a good occasion to discuss its effectiveness and topicality in today’s world with its threats to the movable heritage. The aim of this article is to discuss the most important provisions of the Convention and their implementation in Poland.

Ownership of finds – selected issues related to the civil law situation of a monument finder

The subject of this paper is the analysis of the civil law situation applying to those who acquire a find in Poland (i.e. finders). Legislators have differentiated the civil and legal situation of a finder depending on whether the find is, in particular, a historical monument or an archaeological monument. The regulations governing the ownership of finds have a direct impact on the level of their legal protection. This applies especially to archaeological monuments owned by the State Treasury. The elimination of risks associated with the illegal export and transfer of ownership of archaeological artefacts acquired as a result of an illegal search should result not only from regulations of an administrative and legal nature, which are discussed in the article, but also to ensure the security of the trade in cultural goods by regulating the functioning of the art market in Poland.

Keywords: archaeological monuments, trade in cultural goods, ownership of monuments

Streszczenie: Przedmiotem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza sytuacji cywilnoprawnej poszukiwaczy w Polsce wobec pozyskania znaleziska. Ustawodawca zróżnicował cywilnoprawną sytuację znalazcy w zależności od tego, czy znalezisko stanowi – w szczególności – zabytek, czy zabytek archeologiczny. Przepisy regulujące własność znalezisk mają bezpośredni wpływ na poziom ich ochrony prawnej. Dotyczy to przede wszystkim zabytków archeologicznych, objętych własnością Skarbu Państwa. Eliminowanie zagrożeń związanych z nielegalnym wywozem i przenoszeniem własności zabytków archeologicznych pozyskanych w wyniku nielegalnych poszukiwań wynikać powinno nie tylko z regulacji o charakterze administracyjnoprawnym, które omówione zostały w artykule, ale również z zapewnienia bezpieczeństwa obrotu dobrami kultury poprzez regulację funkcjonowania rynku sztuki w Polsce.