Cultural Heritage and International Law Objects, Means and Ends of International Protection

This book explores the objects, means and ends of international cultural heritage protection. It starts from a broad conception of cultural heritage that encompasses both tangible property, such as museum objects or buildings, and intangible heritage, such as languages and traditions. Cultural heritage thus defined is protected by various legal regimes, including the law of armed conflicts, UNESCO Conventions and international criminal law. With a view to strengthening international protection, the authors analyze existing regimes and elaborate innovative concepts, such as blue helmets of culture and safe havens for endangered cultural heritage. Finally, the ends of international protection come to the fore, and the authors address possible conflicts between protecting cultural diversity and wishes to strengthen cultural identity.

Robert Uerpmann-Wittzack, Introduction: Cultural Heritage Law and the Quest for Human Identities.- Part I Linguistic Diversity: Sophie Simon, Le commissaire aux droits de l’homme du Conseil de l’Europe, un acteur de la protection de la diversité linguistique.- Caroline Westphal, Minority Languages in Education in Europe: A Contrasting Exercise of the Cases of the Catalan in Catalonia in Spain and the Sorbian in Germany.- Stefan Oeter, Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Protection: The Case of Regional and Minority Languages.- Part II Other Cultural Goods and Heritage: Amandine Lizot, Réflexions sur la circulation internationale des collections muséales : De l’immunité à la copropriété ?.- Fabian Michl, The Protection of Cultural Goods and the Right to Property under the ECHR.- Claire Sainte-Beuve, Diversité et patrimoine culturels : Réflexions autour de la mise en œuvre de la Convention du patrimoine mondial.- PartIII Protection in Times of War: Gabriele D’amico, Blue Helmets of Culture: Involving Communities in the Protection of their Heritage.- Martin Gerner, Managing Cultural Sustainability: Safe Haven, Cultural Property and Sustainability in Best Practice.- Jérémy Hall, Les défis culturels de la Cour pénale internationale.- Part IV Cultural Identity: Claudia M. Hofmann, ‘Leitkultur’ meets German ‘Angst’ – On the Role of Values and Needs in the German Debate on the Integration of Refugees and Migrants.- Lukas Rass-Masson, Le droit international public et le respect de l’identité culturelle en matière de statut familial.- Mariana Monteiro de Matos, Cultural Identity and Self-determination as Key Concepts in Concurring Legal Frameworks for the International Protection of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.