Features of Legal Regulation of the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Post-Conflict Period (on the Example of Serbia and Croatia)
Abstract
Abstract. In many countries of the world, cultural property is a special category of protected objects. They are protected precisely because of the characteristics that distinguish them from all other things that can be objects of property. The reason for this is that such property represents the identity of the country, its history and traditions. However, they are also of exceptional importance for its future. The study of the legislation of foreign states in the field of cultural heritage protection is of interest not only from the point of view of studying the system of regulatory acts, but also in view of the circumstances under which such norms were formed. Through the prism of the situation in Ukraine and the impact of military actions on cultural objects, such as damage, destruction, illegal movement and use, etc., it is necessary to study the experience of foreign countries that have experienced similar events over a certain historical period of time. The analysis of some legal acts related to the protection of such values in Croatia and Serbia has practical benefits from the perspective of the common historical past of the countries, the formation of legislation in the post-war period and its further transformation associated with Croatia's accession to the EU and Serbia's acquisition of the status of a candidate country for membership. The aim of the study is a systematic analysis of the national legal regimes for the protection of cultural heritage in Serbia and Croatia, the identification of conceptual approaches and institutional mechanisms, as well as the identification of the compliance of both systems with international standards and European practice in order to develop specific recommendations for their use as a model of best practices for the national legislation of Ukraine, taking into account current challenges and threats and prospects for post-war reconstruction. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comparative approach that combines regulatory and legal analysis with empirical research, in the formation of a unified methodology for assessing the effectiveness of protective mechanisms and proposals for improving Ukrainian legal instruments expanding the range of objects belonging to cultural heritage and incorporating the European integration component. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion was formulated about the possibility and expediency of using Serbian and Croatian experience in improving their own legal system, in particular in the issues of combining state control and local initiative, creating transparent mechanisms for monitoring cultural values and financing heritage protection, as well as in the partial introduction of European legislation.
Keywords: cultural objects; legislative regulation; post-war period; European integration; Serbia; Croatia.
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