An introduction to cultural heritage law / Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mifsud Bonnici, Ugo, 1932-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cultural property--Protection--Law and legislation--Malta.

Cultural property.

Cultural property--Protection (International law).

Cultural property--Protection--Law and legislation.

Malta.

Physical Description:

276 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Valletta (Malta) : Midsea Books, [2008]

Summary:

This book seeks to bring together Malta's national legislation relevant to these matters together with the rich international texts in Treaties, Charters and Conventions. The aim is to provide the pabulum for further study and possible legislative elaboration. Some of the comments by the author are indeed mere reflections on the texts, in the light of his own experience as a lawyer and as a Minister. As a practicing lawyer he trained himself to refer constantly to the originals.

The book does not claim originality, it claims some usefulness, in the sense that as of now, students, scholars, conservation professionals, lawyers and politicians have a text books that they can refer to when confronted with the need to know the law concerning the protection of the Heritage. The author tried to make this manual as comprehensive and as intelligible as possible. Some comments might be seen to be too "legal" others too "political". It is however mainly a legal treatise.

The book is not concerned only with 'Maltese' Law. For a number of reasons, in the area of the protection of the Cultural Heritage, law has always been more than strictly "municipal" or even national. Today it is becoming more and more international. The phenomenon which has been described as the new medievalism, whereby all law, but more specifically in certain fields such as that of the environment, trade, criminal investigation and enforcement, where there exist, in today's globalised world, strong urgencies of convergence, is evolving into a new type of just commune. This universal trend is even more accentuated in Europe.

Contents:

Chapter I The legal premises and the cultural concepts 13

1.1 Legal protection for objects of Cultural Value 13

The position at Roman Law 15

The Renaissance 17

The French Revolution and after 19

France and Italy 19

Greece 21

Egypt 22

Great Britain 22

The United States 23

Malta 24

1.2 Tangibles and Intangibles 24

1.3 The Human Right to Culture 26

1.4 International Law protection 29

1.5 Legal protection afforded to persons who produce culture, art, other cultural objects, or who could be said to own such objects 30

1.6 The pedagogy and the training 33

Chapter II The nuclei of legal norms 41

2.1 Recurring Norms 41

A The identification norm 41

(i) Through conformity to a class description 41

(ii) Through ad hoc listing 42

(iii) Through inventorising 43

B The ownership norm 43

C The excavation and exploration norm 45

D The norms concerning cultural heritage with a religious function 46

E The norms concerning the superintendence of the cultural heritage 47

F Norms concerning the ubication of buildings and objects of cultural heritage value, as well as their proper present day continuing use 48

G Norms concerning the distribution of duties of safeguard 49

H Norms with regard to documentation and conservation of archives and libraries 50

I Norms concerning Museums and safe depositaries 51

J Norms concerning restoration and restorers 52

K Norms with regard to the time limitation 53

L Norms with regard to the relationship between law and time 53

M Norms concerning intellectual property 54

2.2 Recurring Relationships 55

A Culture and Leisure 55

B Cultural value and the economy 56

C Culture and tourism 58

D Culture and Religion 58

E Culture and the Theatre 59

F Culture and Politics 60

G Culture and the beauty of the natural environment 61

Chapter III The National Laws in force 65

3.1 The Constitution of Malta 65

3.2 The Treaty of Rome (1957) 66

3.3 The Cultural Heritage Act 2002 (Chapter 445) 67

The Superintendence 72

The Operating Agency 74

The Malta Centre for Restoration 76

The Committee of Guarantee 80

Conservation Professionals 85

Special Powers of the State 87

Religious Cultural Heritage 99

Criminal Sanctions 100

3.4 The Criminal Code (Chapter 9) 104

3.5 Development Planning Act (Chapter 356) 106

3.6 Disposal of Government Land Act (Chapter 268) 114

3.7 Land Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance (Chapter 88) 118

3.8 National Archives Act (Chapter 477) 123

3.9 Public Libraries Ordinance (Chapter 92) 126

3.10 The Maltese Language Act (Chapter 470) 128

3.11 The Copyright Act (Chapter 415) 130

3.12 Legal Notice 266 of 2006 under the Income Tax Act (Cap.123), entitled Donations (National Heritage) Rules 2006 163

Chapter IV The Protection of Cultural Property at

International Law 167

Public International Law 167

In times of war and armed conflict 169

The Hague Conventions 169

The Hague Convention for the Protection of Humanitarian Law 181

The Geneva Conventions 181

The 2003 UNESCO Declaration Concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage 182

Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage 182

International Legal Cooperation in Criminal and Civil Matters dealing with Cultural Property 184

I Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export or Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 185

II The European Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage 192

III The European Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property 193

IV Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the export of cultural goods 199

V Council Directive 93/7/EEC of the 15th March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State 200

VI Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (Rome, 24.VI.1995) 201

VII UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage November 2001 207

VIII The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest, 23.II.2001) 214

IX Directive 2001/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2001 on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art 215

Chapter V The trends towards a cultural ideology and an international cultural deontology 219

5.1 The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments 219

5.2 The European Cultural Convention (Paris 19.XII.1954) 221

5.3 The UNESCO Recommendation on International Principles applicable to Archaeological Excavations 222

5.4 The Venice Charter 1964: International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites 229

5.5 The European Charter of the Architectural Heritage 233

5.6 Florence Charter 1981 237

5.7 Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe 240

5.8 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 245

5.9 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions 249

5.10 Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society 253

5.11 The Ethical Commitment Statement 254

Chapter VI What follows? 259

6.1 The protection of archival and documentary material 260

6.2 The professional responsibilities at law of all those who are vested with special duties under the Heritage Act and of all cultural property professionals in general 261

6.3 The protection of archaeological sites and architectural monuments during the planning phase 262

6.4 Arts Markets legislation 263

6.5 Commonalities for certain Institutions in the access to information covered by copyright 265

6.6 The Cultural Inheritance in values and ideas 268

Epilogue 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-276).

ISBN:

9993271845

9789993271840

OCLC:

244056651