Cap. 445 Art. 7Superintendence.

(1) There shall be a regulator for cultural heritage hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, under the responsibility and management of the Superintendent of

Cultural Heritage. The mission of the Superintendence is to fulfil the duties of the State to ensure the protection and accessibility of cultural heritage as defined in this Act.

(2) The Superintendence shall be a body corporate having a distinct legal personality and shall be capable, subject to the provisions of this Act, of entering into contracts, of acquiring, holding and disposing of any kind of property for the purposes of its functions, or suing and being sued, and of doing all such things and entering into all such transactions as are incidental or conducive to the exercise or performance of its functions under this Act.

(3) The legal and judicial representation of the Superintendence shall vest in the Superintendent provided that the Superintendent may appoint any person, including any one or more of the officers or employees of the Superintendence, to appear in its name and on its behalf in any judicial proceedings and on any act, contract, instrument or other document whatsoever.

(4) The Superintendent shall be appointed by the Minister for a period of not more than five years under such terms and conditions as established in his letter of appointment. On the expiry of his term a person may be reappointed for a further term or terms.

(5) It shall be the function of the Superintendence:

(a) to act as a national repository for the national inventory of cultural heritage which function will include the right to establish, update, manage and, where appropriate, publish, or to ensure the compilation of a national inventory of cultural property as stipulated in article 53;

(b) to exercise surveillance over the protection, excavation, monitoring, exploration, conservation, restoration, maintenance, exhibition and accessibility, import, export and movement of cultural property;

(c) to promote and conduct research in the field of cultural heritage and to conduct excavations and other investigations which may be required so that objects or aspects of cultural heritage be discovered, cared for and appreciated;

(d) to authorise excavations, as well as to monitor excavations ensuring that such excavations, their documentation and the exhibition of the results thereof follow scientific methods and employ the best technology possible;

(e) to ensure that adequate documentation is kept and archived in relation to excavation, exploration and search for antiquities, the conservation of cultural property and discoveries resulting from environment impact assessments;

(f) to promote and ensure the best policies, standards and practices in the conservation and presentation of artefacts, collections, museums, buildings, monuments and sites and to maintain all necessary databases and information derived from or required to organise, plan, co-ordinate, and monitor restoration and conservation projects;

(g) to advise and coordinate with the Planning Authority action in safeguarding cultural heritage when considering applications for planning permission relating to development affecting objects, sites, buildings or landscapes which form part of the cultural heritage as well as to advise other pertinent bodies on all matters of cultural heritage;

(h) to advise the Minister with regard to cooperation with other governments and international organizations in the field of the protection of the cultural heritage;

(i) after consulting the Council, to advise the Minister on the need of enforcing urgent repair or conservation works in accordance with article 57, as well as to the need for the compulsory acquisition of sites or buildings by the Government in accordance with the Land Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance for the better protection of the cultural heritage;

(j) generally to advise the Minister on all matters relating to the cultural heritage and cultural property;

(k) to perform such other functions under this or any other law as well as such other functions as the Minister may from time to time assign to it;

(l) to advise Government, in consultation with the Council and the Agency and other relevant bodies, on a policy of conservation and restoration;

(m) to accredit for the purposes of this Act non-governmental organisations established to promote cultural heritage, including the conservation, restoration, management, presentation or study of cultural property which they hold in ownership or in trust, and to compile, maintain and regularly update a register of such non-governmental organisations:

Provided that any non-governmental organisation to be included in such a register is to obtain the prior approval of the Minister;

(n) to advise the Minister, after discussion with the Council, regarding the entrustment of items of cultural heritage property to other cultural entities, cultural non-government organisations and local councils, according to conditions and terms stipulated in entrustment agreements;

(o) without prejudice to the intellectual rights of stakeholder institutions and of individual researchers, to make publicly accessible through publication and dissemination the results of research and investigations carried out by the Superintendence or by other persons under its authority;

(p) to undertake research and consult Government departments, private organisations and international organisations and other persons as may be required in the discharge of its duties under this Act; and

(q) to appoint and accredit monitors and experts as necessary for the purposes of this Act.