The uniqueness of the art market covers the specifics of the subject of sale and the mechanisms in operation for subjects taking part in the process of sale, as well as the tradition of a market based on the specific bond between the seller and the buyer. The experience of foreign markets with the participation of the most famous auction houses has confirmed that the art market is also susceptible to the appearance of agreements limiting competition (restrictive agreements) and ones causing monopolistic practices. In observing the development of the Polish art market it is forecast that together with a strengthening of those supplying the market with goods as intermediaries (auction houses) there could shortly appear restrictive agreements within this market. The article offers a comprehensive analysis of relevant provisions of EU law as well as Polish law (in particular that of the 16th of February 2007 on consumer protection). It equally shows the impact of the changing legal surroundings within both foreign and Polish markets in the concluding of restrictive agreements (non-uniformly defined by national legislators of cultural heritage, the dynamic changes in the regulations relating to the shipment of monuments as well as the potential of institutions res extra commercium)

Various protective methods against art forgery are available to artists and artwork owners. This article broadly discusses the possibilities, technical and legal limitations of currently available protective methods against art forgery. The risks of breaching Articles 108 and 109a of the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments are given comprehensive coverage.Generally two methods of protecting works of art, i.e. signing (labelling) and documentation are identified. Works of art can be signed by artists by means of a signature, metal elements, chemicals compounds as equally by adding a fingerprint or genetic material. The owners can sign objects in their collection with an inventory number, a fluorescent label, microchip, as well as by micro-particles or synthetic DNA. The proper documentation for the artwork should include a description and a photo. Additionally, photomicrograph or scanning the surface of the object or a distribution analysis can be applied.

There are a number of aspects concerning the presence of museums in the art market. A museum, while fulfilling its mission and acquiring works of art, becomes a direct player within art market interactions. Thus its actions directly influence the supply and demand of goods. However, there is also an indirect market influence created by museums – by setting the trends museums may shape the preferences of other art market participants and influence their perception of goods. This indirect influence is associated with museums’ activities, those apparently not connected with the trade in works of art: accessioning objects of art for collections or organizing exhibitions. In the first part of the article both of these aspects are outlined. In the second part, the relation between the market and museums is presented from the perspective of museum management. Thus, the focus has been put on the organizational, cultural and financial circumstances of museum participation in the art market. Finally the legal and ethical contexts of buying objects by museums is discussed.

The purpose of this article is to analyse forfeiture and exemplary damages that the court may order in the event of a conviction for crimes and petty offences against monuments. The author points out that in the Polish Criminal Code and Petty Offence Code there are different classifications of forfeiture. In the Polish Criminal Code forfeiture is no longer a penal measure as a result of the Criminal Code amendment that came in force on the 1 July 2015. The author also signals certain interpretation possibilities referring to forfeiture and exemplary damages. A problematic issue is the decreeing of forfeiture in relation to a monument even if it is not the property of a perpetrator criminally exporting a monument without a permit. Also the court may not order the forfeiture of archaeological monuments because objects of archaeological monuments, discovered, found accidentally, or gained as a result of archaeological research, are already the property of the Treasury (Article 35 of the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments). Another problematic issue is decreeing exemplary damages for a designated social purpose connected with the guardianship of monuments.

In the Polish legal model, as enshrined under Article 388 of the Polish Civil Code, exploitation may be called upon only when three main factors have been inclusively fulfilled: at the moment an agreement was concluded between the services of the contracting parties there existed a gross disproportion (an objective factor); the party concluded the agreement being in a coerced position, in a state of disability or inexperience (a subjective factor on the side of the aggrieved party); the second party took advantage of the above mentioned circumstances (a subjective factor on the side of the aggrieving party). The regulation of Article 388 of the Polish Civil Code protects the aggrieved party in an illusory manner, while the person touched by the exploitation will have immense difficulty in affecting the agreement concluded, in particular if the subject of this is a work of art. The illusiveness results mainly from the fact that the awareness on the part of both parties to the contract of the ease with which the exploiter can avoid any negative consequences whatsoever through the uniqueness of the mechanisms functioning in the sales of works of art such as the asymmetry of information within the art market and the privileged position, given the said, of the intermediary, the culture of the market, the specific nature of works of art and its evaluation through the significant input played by an expert.

The article deals with the evolution of the legal framework of the Polish art and antiquities market for the years 1989-2015. It presents and substantiates the main legislative problems and the possible ways of developing the Polish art and antiquities market. In the early period of the Polish art market specific rules and regulations were virtually non-existent. The market has evolved since then and new problems, like VAT on art sales, cultural goods authenticity assessment and the illegal art trade, have emerged along with new market stakeholders.

Orchestrated and fixed auctions and the publishing of fictitious post auction prices has been an important issue for the Polish art market since 1989. The lack of transparency within the art market is perceived as a risk. There exists a culture of secrecy, an unavailability of information on the depth of the market, its turnover, sellers and buyers, art objects and their actual prices. All this contributes to its ineffectiveness, from which all benefit (chiefly middlemen). The author postulates legal market regulation that would establish an independent agency to control the art market.

The article offers an analysis of the revocation procedure for temporary monuments export licenses and the participation of social organizations in such proceedings. The procedure concerns the groundless of temporary permission. The authorization is withdrawn on the basis of Article 56 of the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments in the form of administrative decision. This legal structure constitutes an extraordinary mode of procedure, within the understanding of the Administrative Procedure Code. The analysis of this problematic article also includes the impact of any social organization on the decision-making procedure of provincial conservators.

The article offers an analysis of the revocation procedure for temporary monuments export licenses and the participation of social organizations in such proceedings. The procedure concerns the groundless of temporary permission. The authorization is withdrawn on the basis of Article 56 of the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments in the form of administrative decision. This legal structure constitutes an extraordinary mode of procedure, within the understanding of the Administrative Procedure Code. The analysis of this problematic article also includes the impact of any social organization on the decision-making procedure of provincial conservators.

The problem addressed in this article is that of special protection for the sites of former Nazi extermination camps (Holocaust Memorials). The author focuses on one aspect of this special protection, consisting in regulating the special rules of assembly in the area of these sites and their protection zones. The study identifies the essence of the protection of Holocaust Memorials by introducing specific rules for assembly. The text analyzes the Constitutional Court’s judgment of 18 September 2014 (K 44/12) and the Law of 24 July 2015 on Assemblies. Although the analysed judgment did not refer to the legal regulation of the protection of Holocaust Memorials, the law proceeding in its wake made changes affecting the special rules for assembly in the area of Holocaust Memorials and their protection zones. The considerations set out in the study have led the author to the conclusion that in relation to the judgment of the Constitutional Court and the new Law of 24 July 2015, assembly in the area of Holocaust Memorials or their protection zones is more restrictive than the general regulation on assembly in the former legislation. That observation leads the author to reflect on the possible unconstitutionality of the regulations of the Act on the Protection of Former Nazi Death Camps, consisting in the improper balance of constitutional values: the protection of national heritage, providing access to cultural goods and their use and the freedom of assembly.

The article deals with different normative regulations concerning the acquisition of movables from a non domino purchased in good faith, which occur in selected civil law and common law systems, within the context of trafficking in illegally acquired archaeological monuments. The article also raises the problem of the choice of law in cases concerning archaeological monuments and works of art – whether the same rules for choosing the law should be applied to any movables, or if a different approach should be taken into consideration as far as archaeological monuments are concerned.

Art banking is a service involving professional advice when buying art, which is increasingly treated as investment instruments used to create effective investment portfolios. While art banking has already reached a stable position globally, its Polish counterpart is still fighting for recognition and the opportunity to establish stable framework for cooperation between the world of art and that of finance. The article undertakes a multidimensional comparative analysis in order to find reasons for the weakness of Polish art banking, confronting it with existing banking services and the investment environment of countries such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

There are a variety of methods that may be used in the analysis of crimes against cultural heritage, which allow us to determine the level of risk. A case study covering all the instances of crime against cultural goods during a year allows us to note tendencies present in the behaviour of criminals and helps to develop methods of counteracting similar crimes in the future. Based on the results of a number of such case studies it is then possible to assess the risk of a crime against national heritage in a much more complementary manner and to minimise its occurrence. The article aims to initiate cyclical articles to be published on an annual basis, in which crimes against national heritage will be presented regularly. It also includes a selection of issues which in the author’s opinion may provide additional material for assessing the risk level for the occurrence of crimes against national heritage. Different types of crimes against national heritage such as theft, robbery and damage of valuable cultural objects are briefly described.