What happens when cultural heritage is unlawfully removed from your country?

The unlawful removal of cultural heritage from a country – either because of a lack of awareness or because of a real intention to illegally traffic the assets – is a real problem that international cooperation between the Member States of the European Union has proved insufficient to resolve. Besides any criminal or other liability on the part of those engaging in this type of unlawful conduct the question of recovery of the objects that have been removed unlawfully and not returned always remains.

Law no. 30/2016, published on 23 August 2016 ("Law 30/2016") came into force on 24 August and implements Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ("2014 Directive"). This Directive addresses the return of cultural heritage that have been unlawfully removed from the territory of one Member State of the European Union to another Member State.