United Nations (Syrian Cultural Property) Regulations 2015

Reprint as at 1 October 2018

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

United Nations (Syrian Cultural Property) Regulations 2015

(LI 2015/171)

Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias, Administrator of the Government

Order in Council

At Wellington this 6th day of July 2015

Present:
The Rt Hon John Key presiding in Council

Note

Changes authorised by subpart 2 of Part 2 of the Legislation Act 2012 have been made in this official reprint.

Note 4 at the end of this reprint provides a list of the amendments incorporated.

These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Pursuant to section 2 of the United Nations Act 1946, Her Excellency the Administrator of the Government makes the following regulations,—

(a)

acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council; and

(b)

for the purpose of giving effect to resolution 2199 (2015) of the Security Council of the United Nations, adopted pursuant to the United Nations Charter on 12 February 2015, calling upon the Government of New Zealand and all other member States of the United Nations to apply in respect of cultural property from Syria the measures set out in that resolution.

Regulations

1 Title

These regulations are the United Nations (Syrian Cultural Property) Regulations 2015.

2 Commencement

These regulations come into force on 6 August 2015.

Interpretation

3 Interpretation

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Customs and Excise Act 2018 includes any regulations made under that Act with respect to prohibited imports or exports

Minister means the Minister of Foreign Affairs

specified cultural property has the meaning given to it in regulation 4

trade includes sell

transfer includes—

(a)

to deliver; and

(b)

to transfer title to property.

Regulation 3 Customs and Excise Act 1996: revoked, on 1 October 2018, by section 443(4) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (2018 No 4).

Regulation 3 Customs and Excise Act 2018: inserted, on 1 October 2018, by section 443(4) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (2018 No 4).

4 Meaning of specified cultural property

(1)

In these regulations, specified cultural property means cultural property—

(a)

that was illegally removed from a place in Syria after 15 March 2011; or

(b)

that there are reasonable grounds to suspect was illegally removed from a place in Syria after 15 March 2011.

(2)

For the purposes of subclause (1), cultural property includes items of—

(a)

archaeological importance:

(b)

historical importance:

(c)

cultural importance:

(d)

rare scientific importance:

(e)

religious importance.

Trade of specified cultural property

5 Prohibition on trading specified cultural property

(1)

A person must not, knowingly and without lawful justification or reasonable excuse, do either of the following things with specified cultural property:

(a)

trade or transfer the property to another person or entity:

(b)

import or export the property.

(2)

Subclause (1) is subject to regulations 6(1) and 7.

6 Return of specified cultural property

(1)

A person who is in possession or control of specified cultural property must, as soon as practicable, give the property to a person referred to in subclause (2) if—

(a)

the person in possession or control of the property knows, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, that the property was illegally removed from a place in Syria after 15 March 2011; or

(b)

a person referred to in subclause (2) requires the surrender of the property.

(2)

The persons who may be given specified cultural property are—

(a)

a member of the personnel of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and

(b)

a member of any international organisation designated in writing by the Minister as an organisation that may receive specified cultural property under this regulation; and

(c)

a member of the personnel of Interpol; and

(d)

a representative of the place from which the property was removed or is reasonably suspected of having been removed; and

(e)

a member of the Police.

7 Application of Customs and Excise Act 2018

(1)

The provisions of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (except sections 182, 186(b)(ii), 188(1)(b), 188(2), 189(2), 388, and 389, and clauses 1(3)(b), 4(2)(b), and 6 of Schedule 5) apply in relation to specified cultural property as if the property were goods—

(a)

the importation of which is prohibited under section 96 of that Act; and

(b)

the exportation of which is prohibited under section 96 of that Act.

(2)

The Comptroller of Customs must give any specified cultural property to which the Crown has title as forfeited goods to a person authorised in writing by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade to receive the property (instead of disposing of the property under section 189(2) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018).

Regulation 7: replaced, on 1 October 2018, by section 443(4) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (2018 No 4).

Offences

8 Offences

Every person commits an offence against these regulations, and is liable accordingly under section 3 of the United Nations Act 1946, who breaches or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these regulations.

Martin Bell,
for Clerk of the Executive Council.

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012.

Date of notification in Gazette: 9 July 2015.

Reprints notes
1 General

This is a reprint of the United Nations (Syrian Cultural Property) Regulations 2015 that incorporates all the amendments to those regulations as at the date of the last amendment to them.

2 Legal status

Reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by any amendments to that enactment. Section 18 of the Legislation Act 2012 provides that this reprint, published in electronic form, has the status of an official version under section 17 of that Act. A printed version of the reprint produced directly from this official electronic version also has official status.

3 Editorial and format changes

Editorial and format changes to reprints are made using the powers under sections 24 to 26 of the Legislation Act 2012. See also http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/.

4 Amendments incorporated in this reprint

Customs and Excise Act 2018 (2018 No 4): section 443(4)