Identifying and Effectively Protecting Cultural Heritage

This article considers the following questions. Who are the addressees of the different rules on protection of cultural heritage? And who is/are the holder(s) of the corresponding right(s) or obligation(s)? It attempts to answer this query by passing in review the main international instruments existing on the matter. Underlying the notion of cultural heritage is the idea that the latter, wherever located, ought to be protected in the interest of the international community. The concept of cultural heritage as an "international public good" can be traced back to the Preamble of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict ( ), according to which "damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind". How this idea of cultural heritage as a global public good affects the legal regime for the protection of cultural heritage and compliance therewith will also be discussed. Rules of international law typically foresee States as addressees. First, therefore, we will look at the State dimension of international cultural heritage law and inquire into the nature of the relevant obligations and the corresponding rights. The second part tackles the issue of international criminal responsibility for offences against cultural property from the point of view of both cultural heritage law and international humanitarian law. In this respect, it will look at the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the practice relating to the two most recent instruments providing for the criminalization of offences against cultural property, the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 (of 1998 and 1999, respectively). The human dimension of cultural heritage law will be the focus of the last part of our analysis, with a view to identifying the rights of individuals and other non-State actors to the protection of cultural heritage. By looking into the different areas of the ever-expanding field of cultural heritage law, this paper ultimately aims at encapsulating a conceptual framework for the interpretation and application of existing rules. Such framework could then serve as a reference for the drafting of new rules in a de iure condendo perspective.