International Heritage Law for Communities

Abstract

This book critically engages the shortcomings of the field of international heritage law, seen through the lenses of the five major UNESCO treaties for the safeguarding of different types of heritage. It argues that these five treaties have, by design or in their implementation, effectively prevented local communities, who bear the brunt of the costs associated with international heritage protection, from having a say in how their heritage is managed. The exclusion of local communities often alienates them not only from international decision-making processes but also from their cultural heritage itself, ultimately meaning that systems put in place for the protection of cultural heritage contribute to its disappearance in the long term. The book adds to existing literature by looking at these UNESCO treaties not as isolated regimes, which is the common practice in the field, but rather as belonging to a discursive continuum on cultural heritage. Rather than scrutinizing the regimes themselves, the book focuses on themes that cut across the relevant UNESCO regimes, such as the use of expert rule in international heritage law, economics, and the relationship between heritage and the environment. It uses this mechanism to highlight the blind spots and unintended consequences of UNESCO treaties and how choices made in their drafting have continuing and potentially negative impacts on how we think about and safeguard heritage. The book is of interest to cultural heritage scholars and practitioners across all disciplines, as well as to international lawyers interested in the dynamics of fragmented subfields.

“Still covered in sand.looked very old.”—Legal Obligations in the Internet Market for Antiquities

“…The two international conventions relevant to this study are the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. They are compatible and complementary documents, which provide an international framework for regulating the trade of cultural heritage, including preventative measures and restitution provisions and fostering international cooperation between the source and market countries [23][24][25]. These international agreements are then implemented at the domestic level through national legislation.…”

Non-State Actors and the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Asia: Achievements, Problems, and Prospects

“…According to this conservation paradigm, heritage needs to be protected, frozen at a certain point in time, for the enjoyment of future generations-however sustainable it might be-even if at the cost of not allowing present generations to enjoy it. 174…”

Current Problems Of Forming Account Of Ownerless Held Objects Of Cultural Heritage

“…Political feuds, armed conflicts, the global development of industry, the need for the development of territories entailed an unreasonably negligent attitude to monuments. Today, states that consider themselves highly developed should, once again, rethink their urban planning and industrial policies in accordance with the aforementioned international law (Lixinski, 2019). It is alarming that the average participant is not a criminal, but an ordinary citizen trying to take the opportunity to increase his income (Campbell, 2013).…”