Issues related to Cultural Heritage in the Practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of the Court of Justice of the European Union practice on cases related to cultural heritage. The author highlights important aspects connected with the judicial institution jurisdiction in this area and the European Union as whole, names the issues on which it is possible to apply to the Court of Justice of the European Union to ensure the protection of cultural heritage. The author also outlines the thematic focus of cases related to cultural heritage considered by this judicial institution, highlights the roles of cultural heritage reflected in the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The author dwells upon the issues of conflict before the judicial institution under consideration of economic interests (in particular, the interests of freedom of movement of goods) and cultural considerations, including the protection of cultural heritage. An attempt is made to interpret certain provisions of Art. 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which is central in this context. Case studies from the Court of Justice of the European Union illustrate its long-standing skepticism about culturally based derogations from the single market, which has not changed much in the wake of the cultural innovations of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty and the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. The author concludes that in the event of a confrontation before the Court of the European Union between national considerations for the protection of cultural heritage and the interests of the single market of the European Union, in particular the freedom of movement of goods, this judicial institution tends to give priority to the considered economic interests of this integration association.