The main similarities between the Syrian Heritage Protection Act and the Heritage Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg can be summarised as follows:
1. Common objectives of heritage protection
Both laws pursue the overarching objective of protecting, preserving and passing on cultural heritage to future generations as an integral part of society’s collective memory. They recognise the scientific, historical, artistic and cultural value of cultural monuments and regard their preservation as a matter of public interest.
2. Requirement for authorisation for interventions in cultural monuments
Both German and Syrian heritage protection laws prohibit owners or other authorised parties from carrying out measures that could adversely affect a monument without prior authorisation from the competent heritage protection authority. These include, in particular:
– the demolition, destruction or removal of a cultural monument,
– structural alterations or interventions affecting the substance or the external appearance of the monument,
– the removal of movable cultural monuments from their original location or their historical context.
3. Protection of the monument’s surroundings
In both legal systems, protection is not limited exclusively to the cultural monument itself, but also extends to its surroundings or the environment that characterises the monument. Both laws stipulate that new buildings or alterations to existing buildings in the vicinity of a monument are subject to authorisation or may be prohibited if they impair the appearance, historical significance or cultural value of the monument.
4. Obligation to report chance finds
Both legal systems contain a strict statutory obligation for persons who happen to come across archaeological finds to report them. The find must be reported immediately to the relevant authorities – such as the police, the local council or the heritage protection authority.
Furthermore, there is an obligation to leave the site of the find and the objects found undisturbed and to secure them until a professional assessment has been carried out.
5. Requirement for authorisation for archaeological excavations and research
Both Syrian and German heritage protection laws regulate archaeological excavations and scientific research in a similar manner. Systematic excavations or investigations aimed at recovering archaeological finds may only be carried out on the basis of an official permit issued by the competent state authority for archaeology. Unauthorised excavations without the relevant permission are prohibited under both systems.
6. Possibility of expropriation in the public or archaeological interest
Both laws provide for the possibility of expropriating private property under certain conditions. This may occur, in particular, where an archaeological monument is under acute threat and cannot be preserved by other means, or where the conduct of scientific investigations and excavations in the public interest necessitates expropriation.
7. Obligation to preserve and maintain
Under both Syrian and German heritage protection law, owners or possessors are obliged to properly preserve and maintain cultural monuments. Furthermore, they are obliged to inform the competent authorities without delay of any damage, cracks or other impairments that could endanger the structure or the state of preservation of the monument.
In conclusion, it can be stated that, despite the differences between Syrian and German heritage protection law, there are numerous similarities. Both legal systems pursue the same fundamental objective: the protection and preservation of archaeological and cultural heritage. The differences lie primarily in the legal instruments, administrative structures and mechanisms of implementation.
However, the greatest challenge facing the Syrian Heritage Protection Act in recent decades has lain not so much in its legal content as in its practical enforcement. On the one hand, heritage protection was often not consistently enforced during the rule of the Assad regime. On the other hand, the armed conflict that has been ongoing since 2011, as well as numerous illegal excavations, looting and acts of destruction carried out by various armed groups, have led to significant breaches of heritage protection law. Consequently, in many cases the actual effectiveness of the Act fell significantly short of its legal requirements, meaning that its provisions could only be implemented to a limited extent in some instances.
Further details on the Syrian and German heritage protection laws can be found via the following links:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/sy/Laws
https://www.landesrecht-bw.de/bsbw/document/jlr-DSchGBW1983rahmen
https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/de/Laws
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