Chapter VII Legal Liabilities

Article 64 Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, commits one of the following acts, which constitutes a crime, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law:

(1) illicitly excavating sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs;

(2) intentionally or negligently damaging or destroying valuable cultural relics under State protection;

(3) selling without authorization or privately giving the cultural relics in the collection of State-owned cultural institutions to a unit not owned by the State or an individual;

(4) selling or giving, without authorization, to foreigners valuable cultural relics that the State prohibits from being taken out of the country;

(5) seeking profits by reselling the cultural relics that are prohibited by the State from being dealt in;

(6) smuggling cultural relics;

(7) robbing, plundering or privately dividing State-owned cultural relics or illicitly taking them into his possession; or

(8) other acts hindering the control over cultural relics and that shall be investigated for criminal responsibility.

Article 65 Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, causes the missing of or damage to cultural relics shall bear civil responsibility according to law.

Where the violation of the provisions of this Law constitutes an act against security administration, the public security organ shall impose a security administration punishment according to law.

Where the violation of the provisions of this Law constitutes an act of smuggling, but is not serious enough to constitute a crime, the Customs shall impose a punishment in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative rules and regulations.

Article 66 Any unit that commits one of the following acts, which is not serious enough to constitute a crime, shall be ordered by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level to put it right; if serious consequences are caused, it shall be fined not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; and if the circumstances are serious, the authority that originally issued the qualification certificate shall revoke the certificate:

(1) without authorization, conducting construction project or such operations as blasting, drilling and digging within the area of protection for a historical and cultural site;

(2) conducting construction project in an area for the control of construction within a site protected for its historical and cultural value; the design for which is not submitted to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics for consent or to the urban and rural construction planning department for approval, and which deforms the historical features of the site protected for its historical and cultural value;

(3) removing or dismantling irremovable cultural relics without authorization;

(4) repairing irremovable cultural relics without authorization and obviously changing their original state;

(5)without authorization, rebuilding on the original site irremovable cultural relics that are totally damaged and thus destroying the cultural relics; or

(6) in the case of a construction unit without qualification certificate for projects designed to protect cultural relics, repairing, removing or reconstructing cultural relics.

Anyone who scrawls or smears on cultural relics or does damage to them not seriously, or to the signs of the sites, which are protected for their historical and cultural value, put up in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 15 of this Law shall be given disciplinary warning by the public security organ or by the unit where the cultural relics are located, and may, in addition, be imposed a fine.

Article 67 Where a unit puts up, within the area of protection for a site protected for its historical and cultural value or the area for the control of construction, facilities that pollute the site and its environment, or fails to bring under control within the specified time limit the existing facilities that pollute the site and its environment, it shall be imposed a punishment by the administrative department for environmental protection in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative rules and regulations.

Article 68 Any unit or individual that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level to put it right and its/his unlawful gains derived therefrom shall be confiscated; if the amount of such unlawful gains is more than 10,000 yuan, it/he shall be fined not less than two times, but not more than five times, the amount of the unlawful gains; and if the amount of the unlawful gains is less than 10,000 yuan, it/he shall be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 20,000 yuan:

(1) transferring or mortgaging State-owned immovable cultural relics, or making them enterprise assets for business operation;

(2) transferring or mortgaging irremovable cultural relics not owned by the State to foreigners; or

(3) without authorization, changing the purpose of use of a site protected for State-owned cultural relics.

Article 69 Where the layout, environment, historical features, etc. of a famous city of historical and cultural value are seriously undermined, the State Council shall revoke its title of famous city of historical and cultural value; where the layout, environment, historical features, etc. of a town, neighborhood or village of historical and cultural value are seriously undermined, the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall revoke its title of neighborhood, town or village of historical and cultural value; and the persons directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law.

Article 70 Where a unit commits one of the following acts, which is not serious enough to constitute a crime, the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to put it right and may, in addition, impose on it a fine of not more than 20,000 yuan; and if there are unlawful gains derived therefrom, such unlawful gains shall be confiscated:

(1) in the case of an institution for the collection of cultural relics, failing to have facilities against fire, robbery and natural damage installed as required by the provisions of the relevant regulations of the State;

(2) in the case of a the legal representative of an institution for the collection of State-owned cultural relics, when leaving his post, failing to hand over the cultural relics in accordance with the files on the cultural relics in the collection of the institution, or the cultural relics handed over are not in agreement with the files;

(3) donating, leasing or selling State-owned cultural relics in the collection of cultural institutions to other units or individuals;

(4) disposing of State-owned cultural relics in the collection of cultural institutions in violation of the provisions of Articles 40, 41 and 45 of this Law; or

(5) in violation of the provisions of Article 43 of this Law, misappropriating or taking into one’s own possession the amount of compensation gained from the cultural relics transferred, exchanged or lent according to law.

Article 71 Where a unit or individual deals in cultural relics that the State prohibits from being dealt in or transfers, leases or mortgages to foreigners cultural relics that the State prohibits from being taken out of the country, which is not serious enough to constitute a crime, the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it/him to put it right and confiscate its/his unlawful gains derived therefrom; if the amount of the earnings from such illegal operations is more than 10,000 yuan, it/he shall, in addition, be fined not less than two times, but not more than five times, the amount of the said earnings; and if it is less than 10, 000 yuan, it/he shall, in addition, be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 20,000 yuan.

Article 72 Where a person, without permission, establishes a cultural relics store or an auction enterprise engaged in auction of cultural relics, or engages in business operations in cultural relics, which is not serious enough to constitute a crime, the administrative department for the for industry and commerce shall, in accordance with law, stop him and confiscate his unlawful gains derived therefrom and the cultural relics dealt in; if the amount of the earnings from such illegal operations is more than 50,000 yuan, he shall be fined not less than two times, but not more than five times, the amount of the earnings; and if the amount of the said earnings is less than 50,000 yuan, he shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.

Article 73 Where a unit is found in one of the following circumstances, its unlawful gains and the cultural relics illegally dealt in shall be confiscated by the administrative department for industry and commerce; if the amount of earnings from such illegal operations is more than 50,000 yuan, it shall, in addition, be fined not less than the amount of, but not more than three times the amount of, such earnings; if the amount of such earnings is less than 50,000 yuan, it shall, in addition, be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan; and if the circumstances are serious, its license shall be revoked by the original authority that issued the license:

(1) if a cultural relics store engages in auction of cultural relics;

(2) if an auction enterprise engaged in auction of cultural relics purchases or sells cultural relics;

(3) if the cultural relics dealt in by a cultural relics store or auctioned by an auction enterprise are not examined and verified; or

(4) if an institution for the collection of cultural relics engages in business operations in cultural relics.

Article 74 Where a person commits one of the following acts, which is not serious enough to constitute a crime, the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level together with the public security organ shall recover the cultural relics; and if the circumstances are serious, he shall be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan:

(1) concealing or refusing to hand over cultural relics discovered; or

(2) failing to turn over the cultural relics sorted out, as required by relevant regulations.

Article 75 Any unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at or above the county level to put it right:

(1) failing to report, as required by the provisions of this Law, the change in the use of the State-owned irremovable cultural relics of a site not verified as one to be protected for its historical and cultural value;

(2) failing to put on record, as required by the provisions of this Law, the transfer or mortgage of the irremovable cultural relics not owned by the State or the change in their use;

(3) in the case of a user of State-owned irremovable cultural relics, refusing to perform, in accordance with law, his obligation to repair them;

(4) in the case of an institution engaged in archaeological excavation, conducting archaeological excavation without authorization, or failing to give a truthful report of the results of the excavation;

(5) in the case of an institution for the collection of cultural relics failing to compile files of the cultural relics in its collection and establish a system of the control over them, as required by the relevant regulations of the State, or failing to report the files and the system of control for the record;

(6) in violation of the provisions of Article 38 of this Law, obtaining, through transfer, cultural relics in the collection of a cultural institution without approval;

(7) in the case of an institution for the collection of cultural relics, failing to report the damages of the cultural relics in its collection to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics for examination, verification and disposition, or failing to report immediately to the public security organ or the administrative department in charge of cultural relics about the cultural relics in its collection that are stolen, robbed or missing; or

(8) in the case of a cultural relics store or an auction enterprise, failing to keep records of the cultural relics it sold or auctioned, or failing to submit the records to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics for the record, as required by the relevant regulations of the State.

Article 76 Where a worker of an administrative department in charge of cultural relics, of an institution for the collection of cultural relics, of a cultural relics store or a cultural relics auction enterprise commits one of the following acts, he shall be given to administrative sanction according to law; if the circumstances are serious, he shall be discharged from public employment or disqualified for the job according to law; and a crime is constituted, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law:

(1) in the case of a worker of an administrative department in charge of cultural relics, in violation of the provisions of this Law, abusing his power of examination and approval, failing to perform his functions and duties, or failing to investigate and handle unlawful acts discovered, which causes serious consequences;

(2) in the case of a worker of an administrative department in charge of cultural relics and or an institution for the collection of State-owned cultural relics, borrowing or illegally taking into his possession State-owned cultural relic;

(3) in the case of a worker of an administrative department in charge of cultural relics, establishing or participating in the establishment of cultural relics stores or auction enterprises engaged in auction of cultural relics;

(4) causing damage or destruction to the sites protected for their historical and cultural value and to valuable cultural relics or causing missing of such relics due to disregard of responsibility; or

(5) embezzling or misappropriating funds earmarked for the protection of cultural relics.

No persons discharged from public employment or disqualified for the job, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, may be employed for administration of cultural relics or to deal in cultural relics within ten years from the date of discharge or disqualification.

Article 77 Where the persons directly in charge of the unit that commits one of the following acts mentioned in Articles 66, 68, 70, 71, 74 and 75 of this Law and the other persons directly responsible are State functionaries, they shall be given administrative sanctions according to law.

Article 78 Where public security organs, the administrative departments for industry and commerce, the Customs, the departments for urban and rural construction planning and other State organs, in violation of the provisions of this Law, abuse their powers, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractice for personal gains, thus causing serious damage or destruction to the valuable cultural relics under State protection or causing their missing, the persons directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 79 The People’s courts, the people’s procuratorates, the public security organs, the Customs and the administrative departments for industry and commerce shall have the cultural relics confiscated according to law registered, preserved properly, and turned over to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics gratis after settlement of the cases, and the cultural relics shall be kept in the collection of an institution for the collection of State-owned cultural relics which is designated by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 80 This Law shall go into effect as of the date of its promulgation.

The English translation is for reference only and if there is any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.