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Executive Orders

Executive Order 12555--Protection of cultural property

Source: The provisions of Executive Order 12555 of Mar. 10, 1986, appear at 51 FR 8475, 3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 212, unless otherwise noted.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (Title III of Public Law 97-446; hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), and Section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. United States Information Agency. The following functions conferred upon the President by the Act are hereby delegated to the Director of the United States Information Agency, acting in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury:
(a) The functions conferred by section 303(a)(1) concerning determinations to be made prior to initiation of negotiations of bilateral or multilateral agreements.
(b) The functions conferred by section 303(d) with respect to the determinations concerning the failure of other parties to an agreement to take any or satisfactory implementation action on their agreement; provided, however, that the Secretary of State will remain responsible for interpretation of the agreement.
(c) The functions conferred by section 303(e) relating to the determinations to be made prior to the initiation of negotiations for the extension of any agreement.
(d) The functions conferred by section 303(f) relating to the actions to be taken upon receipt of a request made by a State Party to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property adopted by the Sixteenth General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention").
(e) The functions conferred by section 303(g)(1)(B) relating to the notification of Presidential action and the furnishing of reports to the Congress.
(f) The functions conferred by section 304(b) to the extent that they involve determinations by the President that an emergency condition applies with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of any State Party to the Convention, subject to the limitations of sections 304(c)(1), 304(c)(2), and 304(c)(3).
(g) The functions conferred by section 304(c)(3) to the extent that they involve determinations to be made and the receipt and consideration of an advisory report from the Cultural Property Advisory Committee by the President prior to extensions of emergency import restrictions.
(h) The functions conferred by sections 306(f)(6) and 306(g) relating to the receipt of reports prepared by the Cultural Property Advisory Committee.
(i) The functions conferred by section 306(h) relating to the determinations to be made about the disclosure of matters involved in the Cultural Property Advisory Committee's proceedings.

Sec. 2. Department of State. The following functions conferred upon the President by the Act are hereby delegated to the Secretary of State, acting in consultation with and with the participation of the Director of the United States Information Agency and in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury:
(a) The functions conferred by section 303(a)(2) relating to the negotiation and conclusion of bilateral or multilateral agreements under the Act, subject to the restrictions of section 303(c).
(b) The functions conferred by section 303(a)(4) relating to obtaining a commitment on the exchange of archaeological and ethnological materials from a party to an agreement.
(c) The functions conferred by section 303(e) relating only to negotiation and conclusion of extensions of agreements under the Act.
(d) Except with respect to subsection 303(g)(1)(B), the functions conferred by section 303(g), relating to the notification of Presidential action and the furnishing of reports to the Congress.
(e) The functions conferred by section 304(c)(4) to the extent that they involve the negotiation and conclusion of agreements subject to advice and consent to ratification by the Senate.

Sec. 3. Department of the Treasury. The following functions conferred upon the President by the Act are hereby delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, acting in consultation with the Director of the United States Information Agency and the Secretary of State:
(a) Subject to subsection (b) of Section 1 above, the functions conferred by section 303(d) to the extent that they involve the suspension of import restrictions.
(b) Subject to subsection (f) and (g) of Section 1 above, the functions conferred by section 304 to the extent that they involve the application of import restrictions set forth in section 307 and the extension of such import restrictions pursuant to section 304(c)(3).

Sec. 4. Enforcement in Territories and Other Areas. The Secretary of the Interior is designated to carry out the enforcement functions in section 314.


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