Country Summary for MONTENEGRO

Definitions

“Cultural property” is defined as “any immovable, movable and non-material property determined…to be of permanent historical, artistic, scientific, archaeological, architectural, anthropological, technical or other social significance.” (PCPA Article 2(1)).

"Cultural and historical structures"

(1) A cultural and historical structure is a single immovable structure, which is of architectural, archaeological, artistic, technical, paleontological or other social significance.

(2) A cultural and historical structure can be:

1) an architectural work, its remnants or recognizable parts;

2) archaeological elements or structures of an archaeological character;

3) a piece of work of applied arts, visual arts or sculpture, an inscription, a cave dwelling, a piece of work or a remnant of technical culture, old industry or infrastructure and other property permanently related to certain architectural structure or place;

4) a memorial or other commemorative structure. (Article 13)

"Movable cultural property"

(1) Movable cultural property is a single archaeological, artistic, ethnographic, technical or documentary object or a natural sample or collection of these objects, that is, samples, which are a testimony of human creative work and an evolution of nature.

(2) Movable cultural property can be:

1) an archaeological object found on land or under water;

2) an antiquity;

3) a movable remnant of an architectural structure;

4) an anthropological, ethnological, zoological, botanical or geological object, that is sample;

5) an object related to a significant event or historical personality;

6) a ritual object or an object of sacral character;

7) a piece of art of visual and applied arts;

8) a manuscript, incunabula, book, publication or document;

9) a numismatic or philatelist object;

10) archival, library or film library material and museum material;

11) furniture and a musical instrument and other objects of special significance. (PCPA Article 16)

Registry

"Register of cultural property"

(1) A cultural property shall be registered into the Register of cultural property.

(2) The Register shall be kept by the Administration, in an analogous and electronic form.

(3) The Register is a public file with a right of free access.

(4) The form, contents and method of keeping the Register shall be prescribed by the Ministry. (PCPA Article 36)

"Information system of cultural property"

(1) To follow the condition of cultural property and activities on their protection, the Administration shall establish and run the information system of cultural property, providing the following:

1) a database containing relevant data on cultural property;

2) central information link among public institutions for protection of cultural property and other legal and natural persons authorized to carry out tasks on protection of certain kinds of cultural property;

3) information link with competent bodies of the state Administration and local Administration and corresponding bodies of other states and international organizations;

4) public availability to all-inclusive and correct information on cultural property and their protection.

(2) Contents and the method of running the information system...shall be prescribed by the Ministry. (PCPA Article 72)

Relevant State Agencies

(1) Administration and public institutions for conservation service shall be established within 120 days after the day of entry into force of this Act.

(2) Until the commencement of work of the Administration and public institutions for conservation service, the tasks from their competence shall be performed by Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Center for Archaeological Research of Montenegro. (PCPA Art. 145)