Повернення культурних цінностей: правова концепція, втілена в національному законодавстві

Abstract

The article examines the legal concept of the return of cultural values embodied in national legislation. It was established that the main principle of cultural relations between peoples, aimed at protecting, stimulating and enriching the cultural identity and cultural heritage of each of them, is the return to the countries of origin of cultural values illegally moved beyond their borders. In today’s global world, the importance of protecting cultural heritage and promoting cultural exchanges in order to strengthen mutual understanding between peoples and spread culture for the progress of civilization is of decisive importance. As a rule, states put a lot of effort into clarifying and establishing rights to their own cultural values. Moreover, the issue of the return of cultural values that have been moved (exported) is among the urgent problems of the state cultural policy of Ukraine. It should be noted that for our country, this issue sounds particularly acute, because the fact that Ukrainian lands are part of other states has contributed to the uncontrolled export of national cultural values, and since 2014, Ukraine has faced the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, which, among other things, also resulted in the loss of such values The author is convinced that based on the historical traditions of state formation and the mentality of the Ukrainian people, the concept of «cultural nationalism» is inherent to our state, according to which cultural values are an irreplaceable evidence of the culture and uniqueness of the Ukrainian people and have the main spiritual and cultural significance for the state, which should find its expression in domestic legislation. The return of cultural values involves not only the promotion of the import of cultural values originating from Ukraine into the territory of Ukraine, but also the mirror promotion of the export of cultural values originating from other states. Indeed, at the same time, our state is open to the return of cultural values that originate from other states. Attention is drawn to some problematic aspects of the legal regulation of such relations. Yes, Art. 3 of the Law of Ukraine «On the export, import and return of cultural values» defines the list of cultural values of Ukraine, among which it mentions «cultural values moved to the territory of Ukraine as a result of the Second World War as partial compensation for the damage caused by the occupiers». This type of valuables belongs to a special category, since they were moved to the territory of the USSR to perform compensatory restitution for the actions of Nazi Germany and its allies during the Second World War. At the same time, there is a practice according to which such values are returned to the country of origin, which, in a way, is a sign of civilization. At the same time, such a norm raises many questions that must be resolved in the legal field.