The 126-member Public Chamber is a civil oversight body that was first proposed by President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Beslan school massacre in 2004, and took effect in 2005 as a way of providing civilian scrutiny over the work of law-enforcement bodies.
Galina Bogolyubova said an interdepartmental panel should be formed comprising regulators, law-enforcement officials, museum staffers and members of the general public to draft amendments legitimizing the valuation of artwork and providing for the compilation of a national cultural heritage list.
According to Bogolyubova, Russian customs annually uncover up to 600 attempts to smuggle art treasures out of the country, but only 7% of offenders end up in court.
"Of those 7%, many eventually manage to get away with it, taking advantage of flaws in Russian laws regulating the entry and exit of art treasures," she said, adding that new legislation should be elaborated with every minor detail in mind, so that it would be applicable for decades.
Other members of the Public Chamber called for government regulation to stop unscrupulous dealers from disguising art treasures as personal belongings to evade taxation.
There were also calls for a clearer definition of the term "art treasure." Current law classifies all artworks older than 100 years in that way, but makes no distinction between them in terms of value.
