The principles of Cultural Heritage Law based on the Polish Law as an example

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discussed the principles of cultural heritage law. Among the whole set of legal norms, principles of law are of particular importance. The attribute that gives a legal norm the status of a principle is its importance for the legal system. A significant division of legal principles introduces a distinction between the principles formulated directly in the legal text (explicit principles), the principles interpreter from the legal text, although not explicitly expressed in the legal text (implicit principles), and the principles of law not expressed in legislative acts but constituting an element of legal culture (second-degree implicit principles) and being a part of system of law. The cultural heritage protection law is now considered to be a comprehensive branch of law. One of the basic criterion for separating a branch of law is the existence of its proper principles of law, a premise which is satisfied in relation to the catalogue of principles presented in the article. An actual impact of the court jurisprudence on the interpretation of legal regulations concerning cultural heritage protection law becomes significant, however the greatest influence can be seen in establishing its own principles. The main principle is the principle of protection of cultural heritage. Among this principle other principles of cultural heritage protection law may be distinguished in particular (with the reservation that the catalogue presented in the article has an open character): the principle of access to cultural heritage, the principle of integrity of cultural heritage, the principle of property protection, the principle of social utility, the principle of control of preservation of cultural heritage, the principle of sustainable development, the principle of changing the utility value of cultural heritage over time, the principle of funding historical monument by the owner, the principle of funding from public resources, the principle of proportionality. Such a catalogue of the principles concerning the cultural heritage protection law should be formulated.