Cultural Property Transfer Act (CPTA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 1 Subject matter and purpose
1 This Act regulates the import of cultural property into Switzerland, its transit and export as well as its repatriation from Switzerland. 2 By this Act, the Confederation intends to contribute to preserving mankind’s cultural heritage and to prevent the theft, looting and illegal import and export of cultural property.
Art. 2 Definitions
1 Cultural property means property that is important on religious or secular grounds to archaeology, pre-history, history, literature, art or science and which belongs to one of the categories specified in Article 1 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention or Article 1 paragraph 1 letter a of the 2001 UNESCO Convention. 2 Cultural heritage means the entirety of cultural property belonging to one of the categories specified in Article 4 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention. 2bis Historically problematic cultural heritage means any cultural property whose provenance or ownership raises questions because of transfers of title that took place in the context of National Socialism or colonialism. 3 Contracting states means states that have ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention. 4 Specialised Body means the administrative body responsible for carrying out the tasks specified in Article 18. 5 Unlawful import, transit or export means any import, transit or export that violates an agreement pursuant to Article 7 or
Para. 1 — Amended by Annex No 1 of the FD of 21 June 2019 on the Approval of the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, in force since 1 Nov. 2020 (AS 2020 3793; BBl 2019 467). Para. 2bis — Inserted by No I of the FA of 21 March 2025, in force since 1 March 2026 (AS 2026 47; BBl 2024 753). Para. 5 — Amended by No I of the FA of 25 Sept. 2020, in force since 1 Feb. 2021 (AS 2021 50; BBl 2020 3131).