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Gilmanov E.

Some issues of criminal liability for damage to or destruction of cultural heritage

Keywords: cultural heritage sites, destruction or damage to property, archaeological sites, archaeological objects, cultural and art objects, museum, museumification

The cultural development of a state directly affects its economic prosperity, state sovereignty and identity. Currently, there is legal uncertainty in applying civil and criminal law in relation to cultural heritage. This research analyzes the problem of damage or destruction of culture and art objects that are kept in a museum. The task of preserving cultural values is believed to be a serious problem, despite the fairly developed regulatory space. However, the integrity and accessibility of cultural valuables cannot be guaranteed. Unfortunately, in recent years with increasing frequency it is stated that as a result of careless or negligent attitude to the cultural values stored in a museum, they can be subject to damage that is difficult or impossible to compensate. Compensation for the damage caused requires significant material expenditures, the object of cultural heritage is sent for restoration, which can last for a long time. Unfortunately, certain difficulties are presented by shortcomings in the criminal law regulation concerning responsibility for impingement on cultural heritage. Thus, article 243 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not specify criminal responsibility in relation to the committed act and its consequences, respectively; it can be assumed that it can be both intentional and careless. Some opinions are also expressed on the need for increased protection of world heritage sites, impingement on which should be punished more severely than impingement on cultural heritage objects of a different level, which requires an increase in the maximum possible threshold of punishment for such acts.

References

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About authors

Gilmanov Eduard
criminal law and process department senior lecturer, Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov (IEML), Russia, Kazan (elegysel@yandex.ru; )

Article link

Gilmanov E. Some issues of criminal liability for damage to or destruction of cultural heritage [Electronic resource] // Oeconomia et Jus. – 2019. – №1. P. 47-55. – URL: https://oecomia-et-jus.ru/en/single/2019/1/6/.