This article is focused on selected aspects of the right to one’s image. The authors would like to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the legal nature of the right to one’s image. In our opinion, it is not adequate to meet the requirements presented by an information society. Concepts derived from analog techniques are inadequate to meet the requirements of the digital field. The commercialisation of images also means that rights of a personal nature (moral rights) as set by the law are treated as economic ones, which is accepted partially by the legal doctrine and recognized in jurisprudence. The conducted research is supported by the critical analysis of binding legal regulations (Articles 81 and 83 of the Act on Copyright and Related Rights) and followed by de lege ferenda proposals.

Heirless property in European countries is typically inherited by the state. However, the routine application of this rule to assets belonging to victims of the German genocide during WWII continues to raise doubts. The recognition of a moral responsibility towards Holocaust victims in the Terezin Declaration legitimates the international debate on tensions between inheritance law and justice. The lack of a universal model for the succession of heirless Jewish cultural property acknowledged by this Declaration provokes different recommendations. One of the possibilities is the collective cultural restitution notion as a countermeasure to the crime of cultural genocide. This theory links the reinterpretation of the concept of genocide presented by Lemkin in 1944 with the restitution actions of Jewish succession organizations in 1940s and 50s. The theory mentioned is challenged in the article. The analysis is based on historical arguments, i.e. Lemkin’s focus on criminal liability and the specific nature of legal grounds for Jewish succession organizations after WWII. The history of inheritance law provides arguments to recommend another innovative way of dealing with the heirless property forming part of genocide victims’ inheritance. It is reasonable to distinguish between solutions pro futuro and those possible today. The paper concludes with a recommendation to supplement the Genocide Convention with specific rules about the heirless property of genocide victims. The state responsible for committing genocide should be eliminated from the inheritance of bona vacantia in favour of local successor organizations appointed by an international penal tribunal. Cultural property should be excluded from universal succession in the case of genocide and regarded as a legal person that continues victims’ remembrance. Currently, this model can inspire Polish policy regarding heirless Jewish cultural property. It should be focused on three goals: for objects to remain in Poland, the creation of a new complex database of objects accessible online and, if possible, the exhibition of objects alongside information about their last respective owners who died heirless.

Implementing the 5th AML (Anti-Money Laundering) Directive in the form of a 2021 amendment to the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Poland is of fundamental importance for the market. It will be binding upon entities such as entrepreneurs operating in the field of trading in works of art, collectors’ items, and antiques covered by transactions worth at least 10,000 euros. The AML Directive presents a fragmentation of the Polish legal regulations on trade and thus the obligations imposed on intermediaries in the art market, depending on whether the regulations are developed based on cultural heritage protection regulations or economic and financial regulations. It shows the incompatibility of concepts used in both fields and the range of meanings of legal concepts that are directly relevant for the law’s application, and the specification of obligations imposed on entrepreneurs specialized in the trade of what is broadly understood as cultural goods. The essential elements of AML, crucial for entities operating in the art market, were presented. Attention was also paid to further work on trading regulations based on the due diligence model.

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.

The subject of this article is the legal ramifications of the commercial use of well-known landmarks by the cities where they are located. In fact, cities have played such a role and benefited commercially for many years, e.g. the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Tower Castle in London. Such a practice appears obvious but should be based on the local legal provisions in force and resulting limitations. After a detailed analysis of the law of property and copyright, the author argues that the owner of the landmark has not only an exclusive right to make physical use of it, but also the right to dispose of its image. In particular, these rights include the commercial use of this image in both possible forms, whether looking at the monument directly or enjoying it by looking at its photographs. Taking into account this legal position, a city can freely use its marketing images of its own landmarks, but in the case of third party owned monument, it will be necessary to sign a special agreement setting out the conditions of such use. Independently of property rights, a city will be obliged to also accept the rights of authors of projects referred to as “new monuments” as well as the rights of the authors of projects involving conservation, restauration, adaptation and modernization works. These rights include economic rights and authorship of the given works (moral rights). In case of reconstructions and copies, such obligations refer only to the executors of the works.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, hunting based on the knightly ethos became an important part of court culture and, in the following centuries, became an integral part of life for the Polish landed gentry. Despite foreign (particularly German) influence, it retained its distinctive and national character, and was one of the factors that helped shape national identity during the Partitions and the Second Polish Republic. Attempts to eradicate its legacy were made during the Communist era, yet the hunting culture survived and was successfully reconstructed in the 1990s, becoming a source of shared identity for over 120 thousand hunters and their families. Polish hunting culture combines principles of ethical behaviour towards nature, especially towards humans and animals, with a unique language and extensive socio-cultural practices, including both religious and secular customs, rituals and ceremonies. Its manifestations can be found in literature and the arts, especially visual arts and theatre. It also appears in music, performed both during hunting expeditions and on special occasions. Linked to the Polish hunting culture is a distinctive cuisine, which follows with the cycle of nature and is based on venison and fruits from the forest. Last but not least, it also includes breeding and raising hunting dogs (especially typically Polish hunting breeds) and birds of prey. Polish hunters, aware of the values inherent in the hunting culture, actively follow historical traditions. It contributes to the preservation of this unique community culture, rooted in the country’s history and thus constitutes intangible heritage.

This article focuses the historical process of a radical reformulation of the mechanisms of legal regulation of creative activity in the field of visual arts on the European continent, beginning from the second commandment in the Old Testament (the prohibition of imaging) to the contemporary constitutional protection rules in place in Europe and the United States (freedom of artistic expression). The study assumes that the transition from the ban on imaging to the freedom of artistic expression was a result of the long-term evolution of social relations, which involved a gradual liberalization of cultural life and the liberation of the sphere of art from the dictates of religion, politics (the State), professional associations, and the rules of the art market. It characterizes specific historical periods which changed the model of regulating culture and art by the State (or religious communities), and proposes a model of periodization of the history of the formation of artistic freedom as a legal standard.

The paper deals with the administrative status of museum exhibits in the Spanish legal system. The assumptions of the Spanish Historical Heritage Act of 1985, which regulates the status of BIC (bienes de interés cultural) cultural property (both movable and immovable) and various levels of protection depending on the category, were presented. The procedure of granting BIC status and the systems for cataloguing cultural property were also discussed. The system of protection of cultural property in Spain is highly decentralized, which also applies to the functioning of museums. The Spanish Autonomous Communities have extensive regional legislation regulating the above-mentioned issues. The article analyses regional regulations in this area based on the example of the autonomous community of Catalonia – on the basis of statutory regulations in the field of culture and cultural heritage and the Catalan Historical Heritage Act of 1993. This allowed for a comprehensive presentation of the complexity of the system of cultural property protection in Spain (at the state and regional level) and prompted reflection on the legitimacy and effectiveness of decentralized solutions in this area.

The thesis of the resolution issued by the Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań is correct, although incomplete. Against the background of the issues contained in this thesis, a problem emerged related to the financing of an immovable monument located in another commune, owned by a local government unit other than the one in which the monument is located. In such a case, the commune, despite the fact that the monument is not on its territory, is responsible for financing renovation and conservation works to the monument as part of owner care. Additionally, it has the right to receive a subsidy pursuant to Art. 81 of the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments from the commune that has registered this monument in its records. It should therefore be emphasized that financing the protection and care of immovable monuments has two criteria. The first is the location of the immovable monument, and the second is the legal title to the monument. The first entitles one to receive a subsidy, while the second obliges one to finance these activities from one’s own funds. A commune that is the owner of an immovable monument on its territory will be deprived of the possibility of subsidizing the monument using the above-mentioned process. In turn, a commune responsible for a monument located in another commune will be able to finance its care from two sources, from subsidies and from its own resources.

Heritage protection law is one of the youngest branches of law. It is still developing, like a child on its way to adulthood. By using the parallel narrative between the chosen literary works for children (The Snow Queen by Ch. Andersen, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.F. Baume and Pippi Longstocking by A. Lindgren) and future challenges for heritage law, the authors aim to present different directions of development relating to heritage identity, extending the field of protection by law (by encompassing intangible heritage and other areas), valuation of heritage, and the problem of bringing heritage to the public domain and the reverse process.

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 comprehensive study covering all instances of crime against cultural goods during the period of one year allows us to note tendencies in criminals’ behaviour and help develop methods of counteracting similar crimes in the future. Based on the results of several such case studies, it is then possible to assess the risk of crime against national cultural heritage in a much more appropriate manner and minimise its occurrence. This paper presents selected cases of crimes against cultural heritage that occurred in 2019.