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UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws

UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws

Member States Access

UNESCO invites its Member States to submit their national legislation together with all information relevant to the protection of the cultural heritage for reproduction in the UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.


All details concerning the submission of this information (scope of laws, format for submission, languages, authorizations and responsibility, etc.) are expressly set forth in Annex II to the Director-General’s Circular-Letter 3694 dated 19 December 2003.

To ensure that your legislation appears in the database, thus giving it maximum visibility and accessibility through our website, we would be grateful if you could provide UNESCO with:

  • the relevant legislation currently in force on cultural heritage in general, to be provided irrespective of its source (law, decree, order, etc.) and its geographical scope of application (federal, national, cantonal or provincial laws),
  • any import/export certificate currently in force (can be submitted and will be made available on request),
  • any translation of these documents (it is in every State’s interest to provide official translations, which can serve as a reference for all and contribute to the uniform interpretation of the texts),
  • the complete contact details for the national authorities responsible for the protection of the cultural heritage (name, address, email address, telephone and fax numbers),
    the complete Internet address of your official national website responsible for cultural heritage protection,
  • and an official written authorization from the appropriate national authority in your country authorizing UNESCO to reproduce your legislation on its website, and to establish a hyperlink from the Database to your official website or websites, except where it is formally stated that you do not wish to have such a link.

Each State should provide UNESCO with the most up-to-date version of its laws in force, and, in the event of changes to the law, immediately provide UNESCO with the new version that is to replace the previous one in the database.

All such information should be submitted in electronic format using the Submission Form to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Laws Database. For your convenience, a Guide to using this form is available here.

Member States’ efforts to provide UNESCO with their legislation and keep it updated are greatly appreciated. It goes without saying that the more complete and current the legislation you can provide, the more effective will be their contribution to the protection of the cultural heritage and the fight against trafficking in cultural property.

Requests for further information can be made:

  • by mail to the following address:
    Section of Museums and Cultural Objects
    Division of Cultural Objects and Intangible Heritage
    Culture Sector
    UNESCO
    1 rue Miollis
    75732 PARIS Cedex 15
    France
  • by email to: natlawsdatabase@unesco.org
  • by telephone to: +33 (0)1 45 68 45 17
  • by fax to: +33 (0)1 45 68 55 96.

UNESCO also welcomes any voluntary financial contributions for the maintenance and enhancement of the UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.

Europe and North America Latin America and the Caribbean Africa Arab States Asia Pacific