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International law

The provisions of international law focus primarily on mutual legal relations between different countries. International law is created when countries sign treaties (also referred to as agreements or conventions) in which they undertake to comply with certain minimum standards, for example in the field of human rights, environmental protection or the protection of cultural property, and is further shaped and developed through rulings by international courts, such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

International law regulates mutual legal relations between countries, international organizations and other subjects of international law, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or the Holy See.

International law includes both universal regulations that apply everywhere in the world (such as those adopted by the United Nations, including the UN Charter) and regional regulations and cooperation agreements, for example those adopted by the Council of Europe (not to be confused with the European Union), the African Union (AU) or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

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In view of the high level of integration between the EU’s Member States and the fact that they have transferred many national competencies to the supranational level, EU law is not regarded as international law within the narrower sense of the word, but as a separate field of law. The binding agreements concluded on matters of global importance in fields such as human rights, environmental protection and the protection of cultural property against unlawful dealing and destruction constitute a particularly important facet of international law, and are, in most cases, set out in bilateral or multilateral treaties, agreements or conventions drafted by international organizations such as the United Nations (based in New York and Geneva), UNESCO (based in Paris) or the Council of Europe (based in Strasbourg). A distinction has historically been made between peacetime and wartime international law, although the boundaries between the two are becoming increasingly blurred, particularly in the context of international terrorism. As regards the protection of cultural property, provisions of international law exist that prohibit the destruction and removal of cultural objects both during armed conflicts (law of war, for example the 1954 Hague Convention and the two Protocols thereto) and during peacetime (law of peace, for example the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the 1970 UNESCO Convention).

Treaties of international law either apply directly or are transposed into domestic law at national level if their provisions state that this is necessary or if the country in question is otherwise obliged to do so. A characteristic feature of international law (and of constitutional law in general) is the principle of non-retroactivity; obligations under international law apply only from the date on which the relevant country was bound to them as a result of accession or ratification..


1954 Hague Convention and Additional Protocols

The Hague Convention of 14 May 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is based on the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions on the “customary laws and customs of war” (Hague Laws of War) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the Protection of War Victims, which regulate the conduct during armed conflicts of the countries that have undertaken to comply with them. Topics covered include not only the treatment of the civilian population and prisoners of war, but also a ban on the destruction and removal of cultural property.

UNESCO’s adoption of the Hague Convention in 1954, against the backdrop of the catastrophic destruction caused by the Second World War and the increasing risk of devastation through the use of ever more sophisticated warfare techniques, also signified the adoption of an agreement on the protection of cultural property in the event of international armed conflict.

Movable and immovable cultural property is eligible for protection if it is of major importance to the cultural heritage of peoples. The Convention imposes an obligation to secure and protect cultural property of this kind and to return it if it is removed during an armed conflict. In special cases, the cultural property is granted immunity against any military interference in the event of war. The First Protocol was appended to the Convention in 1954, and the Second Protocol was appended in 1999


Transposition of the Hague Convention into domestic law

The primary purpose of the Act of 11 April 1967 (only available in German) transposing the Convention of 14 May 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was to assign responsibility for the general protective measures referred to in the Convention, some of which must be carried out during peacetime (such as identifying cultural objects eligible for protection and notifying them to UNESCO, as well as publicising the text of the Convention and its implementing provisions).

Pursuant to the German Act on Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (Zivilschutz- und Katastrophenhilfegesetz, ZSKG; only available in German), the purpose of civil protection is to ensure, by non-military means, that cultural property is protected against the effects of war and that any consequences of war are eliminated or mitigated.


1970 UNESCO Convention

The UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970 on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property is intended to prevent illicit dealing in movable cultural property, and grants the right to initiate return proceedings in the event that cultural objects are removed unlawfully. The Convention must be transposed into domestic law, since otherwise no legal obligations apply and no proceedings can be initiated concerning the return of a cultural object to another country. The 1970 UNESCO Convention was ratified by the Federal Republic of Germany in 2007, and is transposed into domestic law in the 2016 Act on the Protection of Cultural Property. The Convention has already been ratified by over 130 countries.


List of links

Information regarding the legal situation in these signatory states is available via this website in the section on Cultural property law abroad.