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. 18 Specialised Body
The Confederation shall appoint a Specialised Body to implement this Act, which shall have the following tasks in particular: a. it advises and supports the federal authorities on matters relating to the transfer of cultural property and in coordinating related work; b. it advises and works with the cantonal authorities on matters relating to the transfer of cultural property; c. it represents Switzerland in dealings with foreign authorities on matters relating to the transfer of cultural property; d. it works with the authorities of other states in order to safeguard their cultural heritage; e. it issues persons active in the art trade and the auction business and other interested groups with information on matters relating to the transfer of cultural property; f. it maintains a list of offices providing information on cultural property reported as being stolen; g. it maintains and publishes the Federal Register in the form of an electronic database (Art. 3); h. it issues guarantees o
Art. 18a Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage
1 The Federal Council shall appoint a Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage. It shall be an administrative commission established under Article 8a paragraph 2 of the Ordinance of 25 November 1998 on the Organisation of the Government and the Federal Administration. 2 The Commission shall have the following tasks: a. It shall advise the Federal Council and the Federal Administration on matters relating to historically problematic cultural heritage. b. It shall advise the Federal Council and the Federal Administration on how to deal with historically problematic cultural property owned by the Swiss Confederation. c. On request and in agreement with the parties, it shall draw up non-binding recommendations in individual cases concerning historically problematic cultural property; it may, on request from individuals or from museums or collections or their sponsors, draw up non-binding recommendations in individual cases concerning cultural property associated with Natio
Art. 18a — Inserted by No I of the FA of 21 March 2025, in force since 1 March 2026 (AS 2026 47; BBl 2024 753). Para. 1 — SR 172.010.1
Art. 18b Evaluation
Within three years of Article 18a coming into force, the Federal Council shall evaluate the procedures of the Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage and submit a report thereon to Parliament.
Art. 18b — Inserted by No I of the FA of 21 March 2025, in force since 1 March 2026 (AS 2026 47; BBl 2024 753).
Art. 19 Customs
1 The customs authorities shall monitor the transfer of cultural property at the border. 2 They are authorised to withhold suspicious cultural property on import, transit or export and to report the matter to the prosecution authorities. 3 The storage of cultural property in customs warehouses is deemed to be an import in terms of this Act.
Art. 20 Prosecution authorities
1 If there is reason to believe that cultural property has been stolen, lost or unlawfully imported into Switzerland, the competent prosecution authorities shall order its seizure. 2 Any seizure must be reported to the Specialised Body immediately.