Safeguarding the cultural heritage from a legal perspective : are we doing enough?

Abstract

The safeguard of cultural heritage legislation poses important challenges to the legal scholar and the legislator. The dimension of this challenge becomes clearer when one considers that the study of cultural heritage legislation implies the study of many legal and humanistic disciplines. The first chapter deals with the development of cultural heritage legislation in Europe and in Malta and gives a very brief introduction to Acts that deal with cultural heritage protection. It also includes a very brief discussion of the philosophical reasoning behind such legislation. Chapter II deals with the definition of cultural heritage. To better understand the meaning of ‘cultural heritage’ different references are made to various Acts. The discussion about private rights and public interest, which is so central in this field of the law, is found in Chapter III. Chapter IV deals with the responsibility and accountability when it comes to decisions effecting cultural heritage. Chapter V tackles the issue of Church and State relations when it comes to heritage protection. The importance of the study of the position of the Church internally and externally is analysed in detail. The main aim of this thesis is not merely to propose solutions but also to instigate a critical way of thinking when dealing with cultural heritage. Although this work is not short in giving proposals, the main aim remains that of highlighting the importance of discussing the relevant issues and to be creative in finding answers and solutions to the conservation of cultural heritage.