Palmanova Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia

Statutes – Construction – Temporal operation of statute – Where in June 2020 archaeological artefact imported into Australia – Where artefact seized by inspector under Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (Cth) ("Act") upon request for return of artefact from Government of Bolivia – Where artefact unlawfully exported from Bolivia before commencement of Act – Where appellant purchaser commenced action for recovery of artefact under s 37 of Act – Where Act enacted to bring Australia into conformity with obligations of State Party to UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) prior to Australia acceding to Convention – Where s 14(1) of Act provides that "protected object of a foreign country" may be liable to forfeiture – Whether s 14(1) renders liable to forfeiture protected object of a foreign country unlawfully exported from that country before commencement of Act.

Words and phrases – "archaeological artefact", "context", "cultural property", "exportation of cultural property", "extrinsic material", "forfeiture", "has been exported", "import of cultural property", "modern approach to statutory interpretation", "movable cultural heritage", "obligations of a State Party", "ordinary language", "presumption against redundant words", "presumption against surplusage", "protected object of a foreign country", "redundant words", "statutory construction", "statutory purpose", "syntax", "temporal operation", "unlawful exportation".

Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (Cth), Pts II, V, ss 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 27, 28, 34, 37, 38, 41.

Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth), ss 15AA, 15AB. 

Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), Arts 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 15.