Academic literature on the topic 'Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 May 14)'

On May 14, 1954 the Inter-governmental Conference on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict which convened in The Hague, managed to adopt the text of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 Hague Convention). Apart from the Convention as such, the Regulations for the Execution of the Convention, a Protocol directed towards the prevention of the exportation of cultural property from occupied territories during armed conflicts, and three Resolutions were adopted.

One way of thinking about cultural property—i.e., objects of artistic, archaeological, ethnological or historical interest—is as components of a common human culture, whatever their places of origin or present location, independent of property rights or national jurisdiction. That is the attitude embodied in the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of May 14, 1954 (hereinafter “Hague 1954”), which culminates a development in the international law of war that began in the mid-19th century.

The article is devoted to the analysis of issues of international legal provision of responsibility for international crimes in the field of protection of cultural values. The main international legal acts and case law in this area are analyzed. Proposals for improving international and domestic legal acts are provided. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of a free human person free from fear and need can only be realized if conditions are created in which everyone can enjoy their economic, social, cultural and political rights. Understanding the systemic nature of these rights implies the creation of appropriate conditions for their implementation at both national and international levels, including in the field of judicial protection. As the realization of economic, social, political and cultural rights is complex, systemic, the issues of preservation and protection of cultural values have recently become especially important, as it applies not only to the state in which they are located, but also to all peoples of the world. Thus, the preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites, especially in armed conflicts, is a matter not only of an individual state, but of the entire international community. As you know, issues of protection of cultural values are constantly in the field of view of the international community. In particular, these issues were reflected in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, especially in the Hague Regulations of 1907. The most important international legal act on the preservation and treatment of cultural heritage sites in armed conflict is the Hague Convention of 14 May 1954 on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Additional Protocols of 1954 and 1999, respectively, which is perceived as a universally recognized universal set of norms in the field of protection of cultural values. Key words: international criminal court, cultural values, cultural heritage, international crimes.

The role of castles and other objects of architectural and cultural heritage of Ukraine in the formation of national identity of citizens are reveals in the article. Castles and other cultural heritage sites are considered as places of national memory, as evidence of historical events and stages of state formation of our country, as architectural and cultural sites that can reproduce and analyze artistic and stylistic trends in different eras of state and cultural formation of our people as well. Trends of castle buildings use in different periods of formation of our state, including during the war, are studied. The existence of castles and palaces during the war was found to be subject to various risks. First, buildings as an architectural heritage can be destroyed by bombing or other hostilities. Secondly, the use of castle and palace buildings for other purposes, to hold various non-cultural events in their premises, has a very detrimental effect on the future of their existence. Third, museum exhibits and other objects of movable cultural heritage are under the threat of looting, theft and deportation to the territory of the occupier. The article also considers other problems faced by castles and other cultural heritage sites of Ukraine. These are, first of all, insufficient attention to the preservation of ancient architectural monuments from destruction, lack of sufficient funding for conservation and restoration work, insufficient number of restorers of the appropriate qualification level. The article examines the amount of damage caused by the russian occupiers to the cultural heritage sites of Ukraine since the full-scale invasion of our lands by russian troops. The article reviews the main documents governing the protection of cultural property in the event of an armed conflict in Ukraine. The main actions under Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (May 14, 1954) are considered to be taken to protect cultural property from the effects of armed conflict on military attack on our lands. The article substantiates the need to protect castles and other cultural heritage sites of Ukraine not only from war threats and crimes, but also in peacetime.

In May of 1954, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention) was adopted in an attempt to curb the destruction of movable and immovable cultural property during war. Recent conflicts, such as the continuing war in the Balkans, remind us that the Hague Convention is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. Although this Convention is the most comprehensive and internationally recognized treaty to protect cultural property in time of war, the United States remains one of the few signatories that has yet to ratify it. In January 1999, former President William J. Clinton forwarded the Hague Convention to the Senate with the recommendation that it ratify the Convention and part of Protocol I. Although this presented perhaps the first real opportunity in nearly half a century for the United States to join one hundred countries and ratify the Hague Convention, its fate remains uncertain. Generally oriented towards the United States' policy and practice, this article broadly discusses the Hague Convention, its history, its weaknesses and strengths, and the current status of U.S. ratification.

SummarySince the second half of the last century, public international law has been developing rules regulating the restitution of cultural objects removed from occupied territories during armed conflict. Today it is generally recognized that customary international law forbids pillage. The Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict further mandates that artifacts removed from an occupied territory must be returned to the competent authorities of that territory at the close of hostilities. The Arab-Israeli case highlights the problematic side of this solution. Following the Six Day War in 1967, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the Gaza strip and the territory known as the “West Bank” came under Israeli control. Israeli archaeologists carried out numerous excavations, and discovered artifacts of special importance to Jewish cultural heritage. It is regrettable that, as a result of the peace treaty with Egypt, these artifacts can no longer be exhibited and appreciated at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, but had to be delivered to Egypt, where they now face an uncertain future. A similar fate may befall the artifacts excavated in the Golan Heights. The Palestinian claim for restitution cannot be based on the Protocol. The Problem is nevertheless the same in all cases; if the artifacts are to be preserved, properly appreciated and made available for purposes of study and research, it may be more appropriate to distribute them among the states by way of compromise and agreement, that will seek to enhance their cultural significance, rather than use the arbitrary sole criterion of the place of discovery.

The article evaluates current conditions of international criminalization of offences relating to cultural property and makes a brief historical review of developing international protection of cultural property and elaborating a corresponding notion. Having analyzed the international instruments, the author concludes that offences relating to cultural property may include deliberate seizure, appropriation, demolition as well as any other forms of destruction or damage to objects and items protected under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict committed during international and non-international armed conflicts. These offences do not include such possible acts toward universal cultural values committed either beyond any armed conflict or without direct connection with it. Taking the examples of destruction of Buddhas of Bamiyan, Nimrud, Palmyra, and mausoleums of Timbuktu, the author states that international criminalization of offences relating to cultural property is insufficient, because it does not encompass such cases when objects or items of cultural value are damaged or destroyed under the control of national administrations or with their knowledge.

The book Cultural heritage and tourism – An Introduction is written by Dallen J. Timothy, professor at the Arizona State University, an enthusiast when it comes to cultural heritage, a person who has visited more than 120 countries. It is divided into two sections. Through the 12 chapters of the first section, the reader can become familiar with general concepts and issues related to cultural or heritage tourism, while in the second section, the reader will learn more about heritage tourism attractions.In the introductory chapter, structure and content of the book are presented. This chapter, Cultural heritage and tourism, starts with a description of the history of heritage tourism underlining important historical moments in heritage tourism such as The Seven Wonders, The Grand tour or Thomas Cook’s experience, which could be regarded as the origin of modern heritage tourism.A simplified definition of heritage is presented here: it is what we inherit from the past and use in nowadays. The author also introduces us to basic division of heritage on cultural (tangible and intangible) and natural. Further on, relationship between heritage tourism and cultural tourism is explained along with the problems of defining these terms. In the book, the author uses these two terms synonymously.In the second and third chapters, the importance of demand and supply of heritage tourism products and experiences are examined. General pattern of tourism demand is presented in the second chapter. The chapter focuses on the motivations of tourists and non-tourists in their consumption of cultural heritage. To understand the demand, geographic, demographic and psychographic characteristics of tourists are analyzed. Since the demand for all types of tourism is not constant and it changes with the economic, environmental, political and other changes, the so-called demand shifters are a subject of this chapter as well.In the next chapter, the author presents heritage sites which attract visitors and tourists. Most of them, such as museums, archeological sites and ancient monuments, religious sites, living culture, industrial heritage, difficult heritage or sites of death are further elaborated in the second part of the book, in chapters 14 – 21. A short description of additional services, which are an indispensable part of heritage supply, such as food, accommodation and transportation, is also presented in the third chapter.The spatial characteristics of heritage resources are discussed in the forth chapter along with the basic distinction between global, national, local/regional and personal heritage.The issue of authenticity is also one of the subjects of the book and it is discussed in the fifth chapter; decades old conceptual debates on this issue are presented. Is authenticity intrinsic to objects, artifacts and locations being visited, is it the tourists’ perception, or it does not matter at all? How to measure authenticity? All these questions are dealt with within this chapter.Many destinations are marketing themselves as unique and authentic, often even when the authenticity is questionable. Destinations are prone to use words such as “authentic”, “unique”, “sustainable” to sell their products, or to boost their image. The author describes these marketing tools in the twelfth chapter Marketing the past for today. Other marketing concepts are also discussed here. UNESCO World Heritage Sites is another example of attracting people.The author mentions World Heritage Site Angkor Wat in Cambodia as an example, but the example of Preah Vihear temple1 was omitted here although it would be an excellent example of this as it presents a very complex issue, showing how World heritage sites are great generators of income but also how putting some heritage on World heritage list could be a potential source of conflict situation. There are also some other aspects of World heritage sites (such as Dresden case) which could fit in the topic which are not presented in the book.Heritage is very often used or abused as a tool for achieving certain goals, especially political ones. What elements of heritage should be presented to tourists and which elements should be ignored – is usually a decision of politics. The use of heritage for touristic purposes is shown in the 6th chapter.Unfortunately, when conflicts or wars break out, one of the first goals is to destroy cultural heritage of the group, since it presents the essential component of the group identity. Through the topic War and its impact on the past, which is also a part of this chapter, the author explains this issue. Although many well known examples are presented, the author did not mention Hague Convention for the protection of Cultural property in the event of Armed Conflict, which is very important in such situations.It often happens that because of a great number of tourists, some of the most famous monuments of the world are seriously threatened. Much bigger problem than their age and natural processes of erosion are hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit them each year. Impacts of tourism can be negative, but also positive. Physical, socio-cultural impacts and economic impacts of heritage tourism are examined in the 7th chapter. How to deal with a great number of tourists and what techniques can be used to affect visitor behavior is explained in chapter 13, in which the author also addresses the financial problem, which the heritage sites managers are facing today.Unlike natural heritage, cultural heritage is not a renewable resource.Since it is also very easily damaged and destroyed, it is important to protect it from a legal aspect (topic of chapter 8), but also to conserve it properly. The importance of heritage conservation is discussed in the 9th chapter and it exami- nes the most common approaches to conservation problems such as preservation, renovation and restoration. What heritage is worthy to protect – the decision is often a political one, but can also be considered from the economic, scientific and social aspects.A very interesting chapter is the chapter 10, where the reader can learn about the methods of storytelling. Although the title of this chapter, Telling the story: Interpreting the past, may be associated with dissonant heritage2, the chapter presents the ways of telling stories in an interesting way so the visitors would want to learn more, or even visit the place again. It is also a very useful chapter since it provides the basic tools for making heritage places sustainable.The next chapter is also valuable as it provides information on how to make effective plans for meeting specific goals e.g. to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism and, at the same time, increase the positive impacts of tourism.The concluding chapter summarizes all topics discussed in the previous chapters. Generally, the book proves to be interesting and useful: a number of issues, current debates, concepts and practices are presented. It can be regarded as a thorough introduction into the topic of cultural or heritage tourism since all relevant topics in the field are covered and clearly explained using a number of interesting examples.The text can be useful for all those dealing with cultural heritage and tourism management, especially for the students, as it offers a good basis for understanding of the topic. Students may also find the form of the book helpful, in which each chapter has an overview of the learning objectives, and in the conclusion, a list of review questions as well as a long list of recommended literature for that topic.

Defence date: 4 March 2016
Examining Board: Professor Francesco Francioni, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Nehal Bhuta, European University Institute; Professor Manlio Frigo, Università degli Studi di Milano; Professor Ana Vrdoljak, University of Technology, Sydney.
It is now universally accepted that during armed conflicts, cultural property is entitled to a special status, which translates, inter alia, into a ban on its use for military purposes and a prohibition of acts of hostility against it as per the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954). However, this special status is weakened in the presence of a 'military necessity'; an elusive concept which equally limits the protected status of property of no cultural value. This raises questions whether in practice cultural property is at all given any special treatment during wars. This thesis argues that it is precisely the understanding of military necessity which constitutes the essential difference between the legal framework protecting 'regular' civilian property during armed conflicts and the framework for cultural property as lex specialis. Although the Convention's 1999 Second Protocol's definition of military necessity is formally only binding on half of the States participating in the Hague Convention, it corresponds to the customary criteria of necessity and proportionality. The evolutive character of that concept is also reflected in the case-law of international courts and in the military manuals of States not party to the Second Protocol. A narrow reading of military necessity in the cultural context is further supported by: the dynamic evolution of treaty and customary international law in the field; the rise of a new type of armed conflicts, which frequently feature cultural destruction as means of harming the enemy; the reinforcement of individual criminal responsibility for unlawful attacks against cultural property; the rise of erga omnes obligations, and, finally, analogies in the application of necessity in other fields of international law. If international practice continues to develop in this direction, the fundamental intention of the architects of the Hague Convention will be respected, and the world's cultural riches will have a better chance of escaping the greedy toll of wartime destruction and being preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.