This law outlines the legal framework for identifying, categorizing, and protecting the cultural heritage within the country. It covers both tangible and intangible cultural assets, detailing the responsibilities of the state, local authorities, and private owners in preserving and maintaining these heritage assets.
Summary of Key Provisions:
Definition of Cultural Heritage: The law defines cultural heritage as both tangible (immovable and movable) and intangible assets that have cultural, historical, archaeological, ethnological, artistic, architectural, and other scientific or cultural significance.
Categories of Heritage: The law categorizes heritage into different types, such as immovable (e.g., buildings, monuments), movable (e.g., artifacts, manuscripts), and intangible heritage (e.g., folklore, language, traditions).
Objectives of Protection: The primary objectives include preserving heritage in its original state, ensuring its integrity, promoting public awareness of its value, and enabling its use for educational, cultural, scientific, and tourism purposes.
Public Interest: The protection of cultural heritage is deemed a matter of public interest, which must be upheld under all circumstances. This includes safeguarding the heritage from illegal excavations, trafficking, and other forms of degradation.
Responsibility for Protection: The law assigns responsibility to various entities, including the Ministry of Culture, local governments, and specialized public institutions, to carry out activities related to the protection and management of cultural heritage.
Regulation of Ownership and Use: The law provides that cultural heritage can be publicly or privately owned, but its protection is a public obligation. Private owners are responsible for maintaining and allowing access to the heritage for research and public interest, and they may receive compensation for maintenance costs under certain conditions.
The Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage in North Macedonia (Закон за заштита на културното наследство) supersedes the Law on the Protection of Monuments of Culture (Закон за заштита на спомениците на културата) as indicated in Article 183 of the new law. The previous law was published in the “Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia” in numbers 24/73 and 42/76, and later in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” in number 12/93.
This transition signifies a modernization and expansion of the legal framework to better align with contemporary needs for preserving both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as well as complying with international standards and practices. The new law includes more comprehensive measures, including the introduction of new categories of cultural heritage, detailed provisions for their protection, and stricter enforcement mechanisms.
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