Mezinárodní obchod s archeologickými nálezy optikou veřejného práva

The publication addresses the issue of the illicit trade in archaeological finds within an international European context from a public law perspective. A topic that has so far received limited attention in the Czech scholarly environment is introduced through an overview of the stages of illicit trade, its underlying causes and its historical development. The author then focuses on the key public-law aspects shaping this field, in particular the definition of protected cultural property, public-law restrictions on property rights, the regulation of the acquisition of archaeological finds – including the activities of amateur collaborators – and the rules governing their export and import. The analysis is based primarily on the legal frameworks of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, complemented by comparative examples from other European countries, including Greece, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, and Estonia. The final part of the publication synthesises the findings in a set of de lege ferenda proposals aimed at strengthening the protection of archaeological heritage not only in the Czech Republic but also within the broader international context.