Heritage is often defenceless in the absence of legal instruments for its suitable protection and management. With the exception of the odd case throughout history, most of the legal tools for the protection of heritage first appeared in different countries
in the 19th century, coinciding with increased popular interest in different aspects of heritage, especially monumental or representing the identity or personal history of individual peoples. After the Second World War supranational bodies for the
recognition, management and protection of heritage were set up, fostering a feeling of common ownership of the most iconic and representative human heritage worldwide. Such common denominators are UNESCO and ICOMOS
or we could also mention some internationally recognized strategies such as European heritage strategy for the 21st century set up by the Council of Europe.
International protection of architectural heritage is laid down by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is a specialist United Nations body set up in 1945 to contribute to worldwide peace and safety through education, science and culture (http://whc.unesco.org). Its headquarters are in Paris and its universality is seen from the number of member countries, which currently stands at 195. UNESCO programmes work towards achieving the sustainable development goals defined in the 2030 Programme and approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. Throughout its history UNESCO has shown great respect for the protection of cultural heritage through the use of two regulatory mechanisms: conventions, ratifying the regulations for all countries, and recommendations, which have no regulatory value but are used as proposals for the protection of culture and cultural assets. ... MORE >>
In 1965, the member countries of UNESCO convened in Warsaw to sign the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, based on the principles established in the Venice Charter (1964), establishing the creation of an
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS - https://www.icomos.org/en) for their defence and conservation. Thus, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) is an international non-governmental
organisation linked to UNESCO, devoted to the promotion of theory, methodology and technology applied to the conservation, protection and valorization of cultural heritage. Its International Secretariat’s seat is situated in Paris, France. The international
organisation of ICOMOS is made up of 110 National Committees (NCs) representing the interests of the organisation at local level. ... MORE
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In England, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sports is in charge of cataloguing buildings and planning the protection of old monuments. To do this, legally binding categories of protected heritage are established: listed buildings, scheduled monuments, conservation areas and protected wreck sites. All the categories are featured in the National Heritage List of England. Furthermore, in 2012, the Department for Communities Local Government published the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), establishing the Government’s planning policies together with a specific section on the built historic environment. A key objective of the NPPF is the promotion of sustainable economic, social and environmental development within the planning system. ... MORE >>
In Hungary the institutional structure responsible for the protection of cultural heritage has been reorganised multiple times since 2010. The essential law however remained Law LXIV from 2001 however with a lot of modifications, the latest ones from January 2023. The latest changes assigned the protection and management of both tangible and intangible heritage objects to the newly established Ministry of Construction and Transportation from the Prime Minister's Office, together with nearly all architecture-related tasks. Only the Documentation and Information Centre of Building Affairs remained at the Lechner Knowledge Center, the back office of the Prime Minister's Office. ... MORE >>
The policy for heritage management inPoland is recorded in the “National programme for the protection and care of monuments”, passed by the Council of Ministers and implemented under the supervision and direction of the General Inspector of Monuments (Secretary or Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage) in close collaboration with the institutions in charge of its implementation. The national government is responsible for providing legal, organizational and financial information for the conservation, management and maintenance of heritage, monitoring its state of conservation and use and carrying out protection tasks involving territorial planning. All these activities are carried out by the local Inspectors of Monuments, dependent on the General Inspector of Monuments, under the control and consultancy support of institutions at central level. ... MORE >>
In Slovenia, the protection of cultural heritage is included as a specific category in the Slovenian Constitution. According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (2008), the full conservation of heritage is implemented through territorial planning, respecting the importance of heritage and incorporating it into sustainable development supervised by the authorities.
At national level the government is in charge of passing laws for the conservation of heritage and for restoration funds. In collaboration with other ministries and municipalities, the Ministry of Culture is in charge of implementing cultural policy, guaranteeing the protection of heritage. This Ministry is made up of the Cultural Heritage Directorate and its two bodies, the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia and the Culture and Media Inspectorate. ... MORE >>
France is divided into three territorial levels: municipalities, departments and regions. As a result, the State has “central” services and “dispersed” services, found in regions and departments.
The State is responsible for national heritage policies, with two ministries, the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, guaranteeing the joint management of the cultural and natural heritage of the territory. They maintain constant communication with civil society, especially associations, in order to guarantee good governance on all matters connected with heritage. ... MORE >>
In Greece, “the protection of the natural and cultural environment constitutes a duty of the State and a right of every person” (Constitution of Greece, Official Bulletin, 85/A/18-4-2001, art. 24). The principal legislation ruling the protection of cultural heritage is Law 3028/2002, “On the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in general”, which develops a comprehensive detailed system of protection for tangible and intangible heritage.
The main national body for the protection of cultural heritage is the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The services of the ministry in charge of the management and protection of monuments are divided into Central Services and Regional Services. ... MORE >>
In Italy the general responsibility for heritage lies with the Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities. According to article 9 of the Italian Constitution: “The Republic promotes the development of culture and scientific and technical research. It safeguards landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation”. Four levels of government (State, Regions, Provinces and Municipalities) share responsibilities in the field of culture. The protection or guardianship of heritage is currently among the cultural responsibilities still held by the State, with a few exceptions listed in art. 5 of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape (D.Lgs. 2212004 n. 42), the National Law for the safeguarding of Italian cultural heritage. The Regions, Municipalities, Metropolitan Areas and Provinces cooperate with the Ministry in the execution of their protective functions. ... MORE >>
In Spain national legislation established the framework for heritage through Law 16/1985, of 25 June, on Spanish Historic Heritage. This law regulates general aspects for the whole of the country. However, the transfer of competences to Autonomous Communities in 1985 led to the development of a regional legislation and the current situation in which each Autonomous Community has its own specific legislation to regulate the safeguarding of heritage. National legislation establishes three levels for the protection of heritage: property with historic heritage status; the General Inventory of Movable Assets; and the General Register of Assets of Cultural Interest (movable and immovable). At this scale, the 17 Autonomous Communities have established additional levels of protection in their own laws, such as introducing special categories in relation to intangible heritage. ... MORE >>
Germany provides yet another clear example of a decentralized structure of competences in the field of heritage.
In accordance with the division of competences between the Federation and the 16 Länder (Federal States), the responsibility for heritage conservation lies with the Länder. Therefore, the structure and forms of organization of cultural heritage and the authorities in charge of the conservation of heritage assets differ between states. As maximum authorities in this respect, the Länder are in charge both of adopting laws for the protection and preservation of heritage (along with districts, municipalities and in some cases administrative regions), and implementing them. ... MORE >>