The Ministry of Culture is the government body responsible for administrative, legal and other activities in the field of culture and cultural heritage. The Republic of Croatia has a long tradition in establishing services for the protection of cultural heritage including fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods where the main responsible body had been the Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.
In the late nineties, following the adoption of the new Law on the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture became responsible for the overall cultural heritage policy and legislation. Along the Law on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Goods, the Ministry uses legislation from other sectors that are relevant for the illicit traffic in cultural goods. It is also the administration in charge of the implementation of the most relevant international normative instruments.
The Ministry of Culture has developed a network of 21 local conservation departments that are spread all over the country, and an additional one - The Zagreb City Institute for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Main policy initiatives with regard to the fight illicit traffic are initiated and coordinated by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with other responsible bodies with a very important involvement of conservation departments which are responsible for the implementation of various measures in the field. In particular, the Ministry of Culture has an agreement with the Ministry of Interior and a close cooperaion with the customs services.
In the framework of its mandate, the Ministry has initiated a national programme for installing alarm system equipment, as one of the measures of the national policy for the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods.
The Ministry also provides specialized training for conservators and organises seminars for museum and gallery personel in this area.
