Text size:

• Small
• Medium
• Large

Commissioning of Artworks Act

Passed 17.06.2010
RT I 2010, 43, 257
Entry into force 01.01.2011

Amended by the following legal instruments (show)

§ 1.  Scope of application of Act

 (1) This Act regulates obligation to commission works of art related to the construction of public buildings with the purpose to improve the public space aesthetically.

 (2) For the purposes of this Act a public building is a building meant for public use to which third persons have total, partial and permanent or temporary access in addition to the members of staff and officials of the agency. Such buildings are for instance:
 1) office buildings;
 2) administrative buildings;
 3) educational buildings;
 4) healthcare buildings;
 5) sports buildings;
 6) social welfare buildings;
 7) buildings for cultural or entertainment establishments;
 8) transport buildings;
 9) service buildings;
 10) commercial buildings;
 11) catering buildings;
 12) accommodation buildings;
 13) buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities;
 14) buildings meant for training of conscripts.
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 3 - entry into force 01.07.2015]

 (3) The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act apply to the administrative procedure prescribed in this Act, taking into account the specifications arising from this Act.

§ 2.  Obligation to commission artworks

 (1) The obligations provided for in this Act shall extend to the following persons (hereinafter the contracting authority):
 1) the state or a state agency;
 2) a legal person governed by public law or its agency except a local government unit, a local government authority or an association of local authorities;
 3) foundation whose sole founder is a person specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection or at least half of the members of the council of the foundation are appointed by the persons specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection;
 4) non-profit association with more than half of whose members are the persons specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection;
 5) a company in which more than half of the share capital is held or more than half of the votes represented by shares is controlled or more than half of the members of the management board or supervisory board is appointed by the persons specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection and other legal person governed by private law on the condition that it is established with the purpose to perform or is performing, as the principal or ancillary activity in the public interest, the functions that are not of industrial or commercial nature and that are mainly funded by the persons specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection;
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)
 6) a person who has been granted special or exclusive right to act in the fields specified in §§ 146-152 of the Public Procurement Act.
[RT I, 01.07.2017, 1 - entry into force 01.09.2017]

 (2) The contracting authority is required to commission a work of art if the following conditions have been complied with:
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)
 1) the contracting authority, acting as a supplier, has concluded the procurement contract for construction works specified in subsection 8 (5) of the Public Procurement Act or the concession contract for construction works specified in subsection 137 (1) of the Public Procurement Act;
[RT I, 01.07.2017, 1 - entry into force 01.09.2017]
 2) construction work refers to erection of, adding an extension to or conversion of a public building;
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 3 - entry into force 01.07.2015]
 3) the value of the procurement contract or the concession contract of construction works is at least equal to five times the threshold for the public procurement of construction works specified in clause 14 (2) 2) of the Public Procurement Act.
[RT I, 08.07.2020, 2 – entry into force 15.07.2020]

 (2¹) There is no obligation to commission a work of art if:
 1) a temporary construction work is built;
 2) a utility system of the construction work or part thereof is built;
 3) the value of the procurement contract or the concession contract for construction works without the utility system construction costs, is below the threshold specified in clause (2) 3) of this section or
[RT I, 08.07.2020, 2 – entry into force 15.07.2020]
 4) the total cost of construction is funded from a foreign project or programme and the commissioning of a work of art is not eligible;
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)
 5) a penal institution building is built;
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 3 - entry into force 01.07.2015]
 6) a building for family home or substitute home is built.
[RT I, 28.11.2017, 2 - entry into force 01.01.2018]

 (3) The total price of works of art without the value added tax shall be at least 1/100 of the following price but not more than 110,000 euros:
[RT I, 08.07.2020, 2 – entry into force 01.01.2021]
 1) of the price of the procurement or concession contract for construction works specified in clause (2) 1) of this section;
 2) of the total price of procurement contracts concluded with regard to all parts if the procurement of the construction works has been divided into parts within the frames of one procurement procedure;
 3) of the total price of the procurement contracts for construction works and design services if the procurement contract for design services for the same building has been concluded during five years preceding the procurement contract for construction works.

 (4) The price of the work of art without value added tax may exceed the amount specified in subsection (3) of this section.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3.  Commissioning of work of art

  [RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

 (1) The commissioning of a work of art is carried out by an open competition, except in the case provided for in subsection 3¹ (8) of this Act.

 (2) A unique work of art which is a movable or a significant part of the immovable property and which shall be put out publicly and permanently in a public building or thereat shall be commissioned as a result of the competition for commissioning a work of art.

 (3) The work of art to be commissioned shall be a work of visual arts which is enriching the public space, fitting in with the architectural whole of the building and the activities of the user thereof, which is the original work of an author or authors and which is not intended for ensuring everyday functions of the building.

 (4) The aesthetic, functional and environmental properties of the works submitted shall be evaluated at the competition for commissioning a work of art.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3¹.  Organisation of competition for commissioning work of art

 (1) In order to start a competition for the commissioning of a work of art the contracting authority shall publish the notice of competition on its web page.

 (2) The competition for the commissioning of a work of art shall be announced at the first opportunity but no later than one year after entering into the public works contract or, in the case the public works procurement is divided into lots within one procurement procedure, one year after the award of the public contract for the last lot.

 (3) The term of the competition for commissioning of a work of art may not be shorter than 50 calendar days.

 (4) The designs submitted to the competition shall be anonymous until the jury makes the decision.

 (5) The contracting authority may establish qualification requirements to the participants. If they are established, at least one third of the members of the jury shall be of equivalent qualification.

 (6) The contracting authority shall inform the Ministry of Culture of the announcement of the competition and forward the conditions of the competition.

 (7) During the competition the contracting authority shall ensure access to a three-dimensional image providing the final space impression and, if possible, the location of the works of art to be commissioned, with the exception of the state secrets on the basis of the State Secrets and Classified Information of Foreign States Act.

 (8) On the basis of the decision coordinated with the Ministry of Culture a security authority may acquire a completed work of art without competition with the participation of an expert appointed by the Ministry of Culture if compliance with the procedure provided for in this Act would threaten the performance of the duties or the security of the security authority.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3².  Merging competitions for commissioning work of art

 (1) If several buildings are planned to be built on one immovable property, several competitions for the commissioning of a work of art may be merged and one competition may be organised instead of several competitions or the competitions may be announced at the same time.

 (2) The competition shall be announced no later than one year after entering into the last public works contract.

 (3) The price of the commissioned work of art or works of art without the value added tax may not be lower than upon the announcement of separate competitions.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3³.  Composition and functions of jury

 (1) The design of a work of art submitted to the competition for the commissioning of a work of art shall be evaluated by the jury consisting of at least five members. At least two-thirds of the members of the jury shall be appointed by the management board of an artistic association pursuing visual arts. The rest of the members of the jury shall be appointed by the contracting authority.

 (2) The activities of the jury shall involve, as a member or expert where necessary, the architect of the building, user, representative, cultural heritage or other experts.

 (3) The contracting authority shall coordinate the initial tasks and basic conditions of the competition with the jury and, where necessary, with the experts prior to the announcement of the competition.

 (4) The jury is independent in its decisions and opinions and is based only on the criteria set out in the notice of competition.

 (5) The jury shall prepare the minutes of its activities which shall set out:
 1) the reasoned decision of the jury on the winning work;
 2) in the case of rewards the rank list of the works awarded;
 3) the comments of the members of the jury and any facts potentially needing additional clarification.

 (6) The minutes shall be signed by all the members of the jury.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3⁴.  Results of competition for commissioning work of art and notification thereof, and entering into procurement contract with winner

 (1) The contracting authority shall declare the participant, who submitted the best design, as the winner of the competition on the basis of the decision of the jury.

 (2) The contracting authority shall notify the Ministry of Culture of the outcome of competition for commissioning of a work of art within five working days as of making of the decision, forward the minutes of the jury and specify the type, author and location of the work of art commissioned. The Ministry of Culture shall disclose the information concerning the commissioning of a work of art on its web page.

 (3) The procurement contract shall be entered into with the winner of the competition for the commissioning of a work of art on the basis of clause 49 (1) 2) of the Public Procurement Act.
[RT I, 01.07.2017, 1 - entry into force 01.09.2017]

§ 3⁵.  Payment of remuneration for work of art

 (1) Upon commissioning of a work of art remuneration may be ordered on the basis of the procurement contract by means of a lump sum or in instalments if this is necessary to ensure the completion of a work of art.

 (2) Payment of the first instalment is based on the sketch of the work.

 (3) The contracting authority shall pay the last instalment upon acceptance of the work of art.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 3⁶.  Display of work of art and preservation

 (1) A work of art shall be permanently displayed in the form accepted and shall be granted access, which takes account of the nature of the work and rules of procedure of the institution located in the public building.

 (2) The author of a work of art shall provide the client with an explanatory description of the work of art and the maintenance and preservation guidelines for the work of art.

 (3) The contracting authority shall publish illustrating photos, type, author, location and a brief description of the author for the commissioned artwork on its web page and shall forward these data to the Ministry of Culture within one month as of the acceptance of the work of art.

 (4) Upon damage to the work of art or change of the location thereof, demolition of the building or alteration of the purpose, liquidation of the institution or in other cases which have an impact on the displaying of the work of art, further work related to the work of art shall be coordinated with the Ministry of Culture and the author or the holder of his or her rights.

§ 4.  State and administrative supervision

  [RT I, 13.03.2014, 4 - entry into force 01.07.2014]
State and administrative supervision over the compliance with the requirements of this Act shall be conducted by the Ministry of Culture.
[RT I, 13.03.2014, 4 - entry into force 01.07.2014]

§ 4¹.  Special measures of state supervision and rate of non-compliance levy

 (1) A law enforcement agency may apply a special measure of state supervision provided for in §§ 30, 50 and 51 of the Law Enforcement Act for the conduct of state supervision provided for in this Act on the basis of and in the procedure provided for in the Law Enforcement Act.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

 (2) Upon a failure to comply with the precept the maximum rate of non-compliance levy applied in the procedure provided for in the Substitutional Performance and Non-Compliance Levies Act is 1,500 euros.
[RT I, 13.03.2014, 4 - entry into force 01.07.2014]

§ 5.  Liability

 (1) Violation of the requirements provided in subsections 2 (2) and (3) and subsections 3 (1) and (3)–(5) of this Act –
is punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units.

 (2) Violation specified in subsection (1) of this section if committed by a legal person – is punishable by a fine of up to 4,000 euros.

 (3) [Repealed – RT I, 12.07.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2015]

 (4) The extra-judicial body conducting proceedings in matters of misdemeanours provided for in this section is the Ministry of Culture.

§ 6.  Implementing provision

  The obligation to order works of art arising from this Act shall be applied if the procurement procedure specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act commences after the entry into force of the Act.

§ 7.  Transitional provision

 (1) Until the date provided for in the Decision of the Council of the European Union regarding the abrogation of the derogation established in respect of the Republic of Estonia on the grounds provided for in Article 140 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the amounts expressed in euros in this Act shall be converted into the Estonian kroons on the basis of the currency rate of the Bank of Estonia. The result received shall be rounded to a precision of one cent on the basis of the third decimal place. If the number in the third decimal place is zero to four, the number in the second decimal place shall remain unchanged. If the number in the third decimal place is five to nine, the value in the second decimal place shall be rounded up by one.

 (2) The competition announced prior to 2015, which is not completed by 1 February 2015, shall be completed on the basis of the regulation valid during the announcement thereof.
[RT I, 19.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 01.02.2015)

§ 8.  Entry into force of Act

  The Act enters into force on 1 January 2011.