The Concept of Cultural Values of Peoples in the Legislation of European Countries

УДК 343.01, ББК 67.408

Abstract

This article explores the concept of "cultural property." The analysis presented in the work covers the legal systems of leading European countries, such as France, Italy, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Turkey, and the Russian Federation. Protecting the cultural property of peoples is an important task that requires comprehensive measures not only from law enforcement agencies but also from legislative bodies. The interpretation of key terms leads to inconsistent understanding and, consequently, to errors in the classification of objects. Each state develops its own list of criteria for classifying an object as cultural property, which creates legal barriers to international cooperation in the field of their protection. The article analyzes the legislation of foreign countries regarding the protection of the cultural property of peoples. The specific interpretations of the term "cultural property" in foreign European countries are highlighted. The author proposes using a single international document, namely the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Unifying the legislation of the aforementioned countries based on its principles and definitions will help harmonize national laws. Key conclusions are drawn regarding the importance of introducing a uniform definition of "cultural property" into international legislation to ensure a unified understanding of the term and the classification of any given object as "cultural property," which will increase the effectiveness of the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property globally.