THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW
Keywords:
cultural heritage, destruction, armed conflict, International Criminal Law, protection, international criminal courts.Abstract
Purpose: Throughout history, wars have been accompanied by the destruction of cultural assets and cultural heritage. With the development of the first international rules of war, the protection of cultural property during armed conflicts was also developing over time. This protection expands and improves to finally include the criminal law protection of cultural property during armed conflict. The purpose of the paper is to point out the international rules of criminal law protection of cultural property during armed conflict, as well as the practice of international criminal courts in terms of trials for the war crime of destruction of cultural heritage.
Design/Methods/Approach: After the introduction, the paper will shortly deal with the international documents and rules related to the protection of cultural heritage. Then, the international criminal law protection of cultural heritage will be analyzed in detail by using the legal dogmatic method of legal norms analysis. Finally, the case law of international criminal courts and tribunals will be analyzed using the content analysis method.
Findings: The key finding refers to the insufficiency and impossibility of a wide range of international rules (outside of international criminal law) to protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts. Bearing in mind the reasons why cultural heritage is the object of destruction during almost all conflicts, the author finds that it is justified to establish international criminal law protection of cultural heritage but questions the possibilities and boundaries of this kind of protection.
Originality/Value: In light of the judgement in the Al Mahdi case before the International Criminal Court, the paper will discuss some new findings related to International Criminal Law protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts, which can be useful for the protection of Serbian cultural heritage damaged and destroyed during a former conflict.
Keywords: cultural heritage, destruction, armed conflict, international criminal law, protection, international criminal courts.
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