§ 11.Deaccessioning of museum object from museum collection
(1) A museum object of a museum that has joined the database of museums shall be deaccessioned from a museum collection if the museum object:
1) has been damaged and cannot be restored;
2) has been destroyed or lost and has not been found in the course of at least two consecutive regular inventories;
3) is transferred to another museum that has joined the database of museums, library or the National Archives of Estonia on the basis of § 7 of this Act;
4) has gone out of the possession of the owner against his or her will before the registration in the museum collection or has been taken out of another state and it shall be transferred to the owner or returned to another state.
(2) A museum object may be deaccessioned from the museum collection if:
1) the belonging of a museum object to the museum collection is not in accordance with the collecting policy of the museum;
2) there are museum objects which are, to a significant extent, similar to a museum object in the museum collection of the same museum or another state-owned museum collection, which are in a better condition or the data of cultural value with regard thereto is more complete.
(3) The deaccessioning of a museum object from the museum collection on the basis provided for in subsections (1) and (2) of this section and the selection of the manner of disposal of the museum object shall be conducted on the decision of the founder of the museum, taking account of the reasoned proposal of the head of the museum, a person appointed by the founder of a museum of a person in public law or a decision making body thereof, to which the opinion of an independent expert is appended.
(4) A damaged and irrecoverable thing deaccessioned from a state-owned museum shall be written off and destructed on the basis of subsection 55 (2) of the State Assets Act pursuant to the procedure established by the administrator of state assets for declaring state assets unserviceable, writing off and destructing state assets.
(5) A thing deaccessioned from the museum collection of a state museum on the basis of subsection (2) of this section shall be taken into use in the same or another museum that has joined the database of museums for the purpose of supporting the functions of the museum, transferred to a library or archives or returned to the person who has donated or sold the thing to the museum.
(6) If the activities provided for in subsection (5) of this section are impossible, the thing shall be transferred for a consideration at a public auction, regardless of the usual value of the museum object.
(7) The public auction shall be held electronically and the auctioneer for the purposes of the State Assets Act shall be the Ministry of Culture.
(8) If, on the assessment of the administrator of the state assets, the expenses of the transfer were over the profit to be gained or if it is impossible to transfer a thing at a public auction, it shall be written off and destructed pursuant to the procedure for declaring the state assets unserviceable, writing off and destructing thereof, established by the administrator of state assets on the basis of subsection 55 (2) of the State Assets Act.
§ 12. Restrictions on use of museum object
(1) A museum object may not be transferred or encumbered with a pledge unless otherwise provided for by this Act.
(2) The transfer of a museum object to a museum, library or the National Archives under the conditions and pursuant to the procedure provided for in § 7 of this Act shall not be considered a transfer.
(3) A museum object included in the museum collection of a state-owned museum may be granted for use and deaccessioned from the museum collection only on the bases provided for in this Act.
(4) Upon the termination of a museum of a person in public law, municipal museum or private museum, in the case of the transfer of a museum object free of charge the owner of the museum collection is required to offer the museum object first to the state and after the state has surrendered may transfer thereof to another person. Upon the transfer of a museum object for a consideration the state shall have the right of pre-emption. The provisions of the Law of Obligations Act with regard to the right of pre-emption shall be applied to the transfer of a museum object.
External link Estonian Museum Act
