{"id":"F2015L01463","name":"Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Syria) Regulation 2015","slug":"charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"162 of 2015","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":438424,"registerId":"F2015L01463-fast-fetch-1775954862592","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Syria) Regulation 2015","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nCharter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Syria) Regulation 2015\n\n \n\nSelect Legislative Instrument No. 162, 2015\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulation.\n\nDated 17 September 2015\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nJulie Bishop\n\nMinister for Foreign Affairs\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Return of illegally removed cultural property of Syria\n\n6 Dealing with illegally removed cultural property of Syria\n\n7 Compensation for acquisition of property\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This is the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Syria) Regulation 2015.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after the end of the period of 28 days beginning on the day this instrument is registered. 19 October 2015\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945.\n\nArts Department means the Department administered by the Minister administering the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986.\n\nillegally removed cultural property means an item of:\n\n (a) Syrian cultural property; or\n\n (b) archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific, or religious, importance;\n\nthat has been illegally removed from Syria on or after 15 March 2011.\n\n5  Return of illegally removed cultural property of Syria\n\n (1) A person who suspects that an item in the possession or control of a person is illegally removed cultural property must, as soon as practicable, notify any of the following:\n\n (a) the Secretary of the Department;\n\n (b) the Secretary of the Arts Department;\n\n (c) a member of the Australian Federal Police or of the police force of a State or Territory.\n\n (2) If the Secretary of the Department reasonably believes that a person has possession or control of an item that might be illegally removed cultural property, the Secretary may, by written notice to the person, direct the person to comply with arrangements specified by the Secretary for storage of the item.\n\nNote: If notified about an item under subsection (1), the Departments and police will work together to determine whether the item is illegally removed cultural property. If satisfied it is, the Department will arrange for its eventual safe return to an appropriate institution in Syria.\n\n (3) A person commits an offence of strict liability if:\n\n (a) the person is directed under subsection (2) to comply with specified arrangements; and\n\n (b) the person fails to comply with the arrangements.\n\nPenalty: 50 penalty units.\n\n (4) If the Secretary cannot satisfy himself or herself that an item for which arrangements are specified under subsection (2) is an item of illegally removed cultural property, the Secretary must terminate the arrangements.\n\n6  Dealing with illegally removed cultural property of Syria\n\n (1) A person contravenes this section if the person does any of the following otherwise than in accordance with a direction under subsection 5(2):\n\n (a) gives illegally removed cultural property to another person;\n\n (b) trades in illegally removed cultural property;\n\n (c) transfers the title of illegally removed cultural property.\n\n (2) Section 15.1 of the Criminal Code (extended geographical jurisdiction—category A) applies to an offence under section 27 of the Act that relates to a contravention of subsection (1).\n\n (3) A body corporate contravenes this section if:\n\n (a) the body corporate has effective control over another body corporate or entity (wherever incorporated or situated); and\n\n (b) the other body corporate or entity contravenes subsection (1).\n\n7  Compensation for acquisition of property\n\n (1) If the operation of this instrument would result in an acquisition of property (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution) from a person otherwise than on just terms (within the meaning of that paragraph), the Commonwealth is liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation to the person.\n\n (2) If the Commonwealth and the person do not agree on the amount of the compensation, the person may institute proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for the recovery from the Commonwealth of such reasonable amount of compensation as the court determines.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of implementing UN sanctions regarding illegally removed Syrian cultural property. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific humanitarian/cultural protection objective."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 sections total, with straightforward operative provisions","Minimal defined terms (only 4 definitions in section 4)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Single cross-reference to Criminal Code (section 15.1) and Constitution (section 51(xxxi))","Clear offence structure with strict liability offence in section 5(3) and civil penalty-style prohibition in section 6","Simple compensation mechanism in section 7 without elaborate calculation formulas"],"plain_english_summary":"This law bars the domestic trade of Syrian cultural objects taken from Syria after 15 March 2011, requires anyone who finds or holds suspected items to report them to the government, and lets the Foreign Affairs Secretary order secure storage while ownership is checked. It applies to art market actors and Australian companies (including foreign subsidiaries) and allows owners to seek compensation in Federal Court if property is taken without fair payment."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument itself confines its scope to cultural property illegally removed from Syria on or after 15 March 2011 and prescribes notification, storage directions, criminal prohibitions and a compensation route (ss.4–7). The text contains no statement that it alters a prior scope or intends to broaden/narrow an earlier instrument; it implements sanctions measures under the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (s.3) within the stated temporal and subject limits."},"complexity_factors":["Definition and temporal threshold: 'illegally removed cultural property' defined and limited to items removed on or after 15 March 2011 (s.4).","Mandatory reporting duty on any person who suspects possession of such items to notify specified officials (s.5(1)) — broad subject pool increases compliance checks.","Secretary discretion to specify storage arrangements for suspected items and to terminate arrangements if not satisfied the item is illegally removed (s.5(2), (4)) — introduces administrative judgement and operational cost.","Strict‑liability offence for failure to comply with a storage direction with a 50 penalty unit fine (s.5(3)) — low fault threshold increases legal risk for holders.","Criminal prohibition on giving, trading or transferring title in such items except under a direction (s.6(1)) — restricts private transactions and commercial activity.","Application of extended geographical jurisdiction from the Criminal Code to related offences (s.6(2)) — expands enforcement reach beyond Australia.","Corporate liability where a body corporate has 'effective control' over another entity that contravenes the dealing prohibition (s.6(3)) — imposes compliance obligations across corporate groups.","Compensation mechanism referencing constitutional acquisition on just terms and Federal Court remedy if parties disagree (s.7(1)–(2)) — creates a fiscal exposure and litigation pathway for dispossessed owners.","Commencement mechanics set by a commencement table (s.2) — timing detail may affect transitional compliance and enforcement preparations."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation implements UN-related sanctions that stop the trade and transfer of Syrian cultural property illegally removed on or after 15 March 2011. It requires anyone who suspects possession of such items to notify government departments or police, allows the Department Secretary to order storage of suspected items and to end storage if not satisfied, and creates a criminal offence for dealing with these items except under that direction. The Commonwealth must pay compensation if the regulation effects an uncompensated acquisition of property."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015","history":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/charter-of-the-united-nations-sanctions-syria-regulation-2015/documents"}}