A selected list of key legal and non-legal instruments relating to monuments, sites, and heritage generally, is provided below.
Legal Instruments
- 1954 Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 First Protocol)
- 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1999 Second Protocol)
The 1954 Hague Convention and its two protocols seek to protect cultural property—including monuments of architecture, art or history, and archaeological sites—in times of peace as well as during armed conflicts.
The 1970 UNESCO Convention provides a common framework for states parties on the measures to be taken to prohibit and prevent the illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property, and for its return and restitution to fundamentally safeguard the identity of peoples and promote peaceful societies.
The 1972 World Heritage Convention establishes an effective system of collective protection of the cultural
and natural heritage of outstanding universal value in accordance with modern scientific methods. It establishes the World Heritage List, a list of properties forming part of cultural heritage and natural heritage which have such outstanding universal value.
1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (UNIDROIT Convention)
The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention was intended to supplement the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Among its features, it provides for requests for the return of cultural objects to be made directly by their owners rather than by governments of states parties, specifies long maximum limitation periods for such claims (and no maximum period if a stolen cultural object was “an integral part of an identified monument or archaeological site, or belonging to a public collection” or is a “sacred or communally important cultural object belonging to and used by a tribal or indigenous community […] as part of that community’s traditional or ritual use”), and provides for compensation to be paid to good faith buyers of stolen and illegally exported cultural objects.
Non-legal Instruments
1931 Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments
The Athens Charter adopted seven main resolutions: (1) international organizations for restoration of historic buildings on operational and advisory levels are to be established; (2) proposed restoration projects are to be subjected to knowledgeable criticism to prevent mistakes which will cause loss of character and historical values to the structures; (3) problems of preservation of historic sites are to be solved by legislation at the national level for all countries; (4) excavated sites which are not subject to immediate restoration should be reburied for protection; (5) modern techniques and materials may be used in restoration work; (6) historical sites are to be given strict custodial protection; (7) attention should be given to the protection of areas surrounding historic sites.
The Venice Charter is a set of guidelines providing an international framework for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites.
1987 Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas (Washington Charter)
The Washington Charter complements the Venice Charter by defining the principles, objectives, and methods necessary for the conservation of historic towns and urban areas. It also seeks to promote the harmony of both private and community life in these areas and to encourage the preservation of those cultural properties that constitute the memory of mankind.
2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape
The 2011 UNESCO Recommendation aims to integrate policies and practices of conservation of the built environment into the wider goals of urban development in respect of the inherited values and traditions of different cultural contexts. It is used by the World Heritage Committee established by the 1972 World Heritage Convention to promote the balancing of urban development with heritage conservation.
The Valletta Principles update the approaches and considerations contained in, among other things, the Washington Charter, taking into consideration the significant evolution in definitions and methodologies concerning the safeguarding and management of historic towns and urban areas. The modifications reflect a greater awareness of the issue of historic heritage on a regional scale rather than just confined to urban areas; of intangible values such as continuity and identity; of traditional land use, the role of public space in communal interactions, and of other socioeconomic factors such as integration and environmental factors. Another important modification, particularly in fast-growing cities, takes into account the problems of large‐scale developments, which alter the traditional lot sizes that help to define historic urban morphology.
2013 Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (Burra Charter)
The Burra Charter provides guidance for the conservation and management of places of cultural significance, and advocates a cautious approach to change: do as much as necessary to care for cultural heritage places and to make them useable, but otherwise change them as little as possible so that their cultural significance is retained.