International legal protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts: History of formation and modern mechanisms (To the 70th anniversary of the 1954 convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict)

The article is devoted to the study of topical problems of the history of the formation of international legal mechanisms in the field of protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict and of modern measures in this area. The authors consistently analyze the relevant norms of both general and special nature of all major international legal acts relating to these issues, starting with the 1874 Brussels Declaration concerning the Laws and Customs of War as the earliest relevant document. The issue of the relationship between the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1977 Additional Protocols to the 1949 Geneva Conventions is considered. A conclusion is drawn about the subsidiary nature of the special norms of the 1977 Additional Protocols in relation to the norms of the 1954 Convention. The resulting coincidence of the scope of the definition of cultural property for the purposes of the 1954 Convention and its Protocols, on the one hand, and of the corresponding special rules of the 1977 Additional Protocols, on the other, is substantiated. The shortcomings of the individual international legal acts mentioned are indicated, including those related to the virtually non-functioning “special protection” regime enshrined in the 1954 Convention. The lack of norms directly protecting intangible cultural heritage is discussed as a shortcoming of the entire array of international legal norms in the field of protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict.