Country Summary for LITHUANIA

Definitions

'Antiques'—all movable material creations resulting from a person’s activity and created 50 years ago and earlier, regardless of their cultural value. (PMCP Art. 2)

'Cultural object'—movable cultural property or another movable item having a cultural value or a movable item classified by a European Union Member State as being among national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value under national legislation or administrative procedures. Cultural objects include:
(a) archaeological discoveries;
(b) material examples of ethnic culture;
(c) movable items related to important historical events, history of society, culture, war, sports and religions and the lives of distinguished persons;
(d) fine and applied art works;
(e) musical instruments;
(f) manuscripts, maps and scores, books and other publications;
(g) movable items holding numismatic, sphragistic, heraldic or philatelic value,
(h) movable items depicting the history of science, engineering and technology;
(i) collections of palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest;
(j) parts of artistic, historical or religious objects; and
(k) antiques. (PMCP Arts. 2 & 3)

'Cultural monument'—an item of movable cultural property included in the Register of Movable Cultural Property. (PMCP, Art. 2)

'Cultural monuments'—objects of cultural heritage that are of national significance. (PICH Art. 2)

'Cultural heritage'—cultural property inherited, taken over, created and transmitted from generation to generation and significant from the ethnical, historical, esthetical or scientific point of view. (PICH Art. 2)

'Immovable cultural heritage'—part of cultural heritage made up of the preserved or unpreserved material cultural property built, equipped, created by past generations or made important by historical events and directly related to the territory occupied by and required for the use of the property. Immovable cultural heritage may be:
(a) Archaeological: locations of past economic or defensive activities, residential, burial or cult sites;
(b) Underwater: archaeological objects, sites and the items of immovable or movable property recognized as significant which are totally or partially under water;
(c) Mythological: objects of ancient cult or other human activities recognized as significant and referred to in folklore;
(d) Ethno-cultural: structures recognized as significant, complexes thereof, locations or sites revealing the singularity of the ethnic culture;
(e) Architectural: architectural structures recognized as significant, parts thereof, fixtures and the integral architectural compositions of such structures and/or complexes of locations, clusters, locations and sites;
(f) Historical: objects or sites recognized as significant, related to important events or persons of the public, cultural and state history or made well-known by literature or other works of art;
(g) Artistic: works of monumental art, miniature chapels, pillar-type crosses, roofed pillar-type crosses, monument crosses, memorial structures and other works of art recognized as significant and directly related to the territory occupied by and required for use thereof; or
(h) Sacral: objects, locations, complexes thereof and sites significant for religious communities, societies and centers. (PICH Arts. 2 & 3)

'Immovable cultural property'—valuable properties that are important for society as its cultural wealth, irrespective of the identity of the owner of the object or the site. (PICH Art. 2)

'Objects of cultural heritage'—objects that are registered as immovable cultural property. (PICH Art. 2)

'Movable cultural property or other cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of the Republic of Lithuania or from that of a foreign state'—the cultural objects which have been removed in breach of the legal acts regulating the protection of national treasures of the Republic of Lithuania, a European Union Member State or a third country, in breach of Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods (codified version) (OJ 2009 L 39, p. 1) or at the end of a period of lawful temporary removal of cultural objects, not returned to the Republic of Lithuania, the European Union Member State or the third country or not returned in any breach of another condition governing such temporary removal. (PMCP Art. 2)

'Movable cultural property'—material creations and other objects of human activity which are movable based on their designation and nature, hold and other movable items possessing cultural value and are listed in the State inventories of movable cultural property. (PMCP Art. 2)

Registry

Immovable cultural property shall be registered if an assessment council decides that a property is in need of legal protection. (PICH Art. 8(8))

The Minister of Culture shall declare objects of cultural heritage state-protected. The Government shall declare objects of cultural heritage of national significance to be monuments of culture. (PICH Arts. 10(5)-(6))

The following data must be entered in the Register of Cultural Property and in a certificate of immovable cultural property for protected items:
(a) the institution in charge of the protection of an object or objects;
(b) terms and conditions of a protection agreement; and
(c) the manager(s) authorized to maintain the object(s). (PICH Art. 10(8))

Cultural Objects may be listed in the State inventories of movable cultural property, including the Register of Movable Cultural Property. The Minister of Culture shall decide which items are to be included on the Register; data on the Register shall be public. (PMCP, Arts. 5, 6(1) & 6(7))

Relevant State Agencies

The Minister of Culture shall organize the state administration of the protection of immovable cultural heritage and be in charge thereof. (PICH Art. 5(2))

The Ministry of Culture shall, among other things:
(a) participate in the formation and implementation of the policy for protection of movable cultural property;
(b) prepare drafts of laws and other legal acts regulating the protection of movable cultural property;
(c) lay down criteria for appraisal of the movable items proposed to be included in the Register of Movable Cultural Property; and
(d) co-ordinate a search for the cultural objects of importance for Lithuania, their return and presentation to the public. (PMCP Art. 4)

The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection under the Ministry of Culture shall, among other things:
(a) manage the Register of Cultural Property, wherein immovable cultural property and data thereon shall be registered;
(b) control the maintenance and upkeep of objects of cultural heritage;
(c) implement State policy for the protection of movable cultural property entered in the Register of Movable Cultural Property;
(d) issue permits for the bringing of movable cultural property and antiques from the Republic of Lithuania;
(e) issue licenses to engage in trade in antiques; and
(f) supervise protection of the movable cultural property entered in the Register of Movable Cultural Property. (PICH Art. 5; PMCP Art. 4)