Looting of cultural property and International criminal protection

Abstract

Historical and cultural heritage must be considered as a symbolic reference for its community, as a factor that shows the cultural diversity present on the planet; therefore, its protection is necessary, it is ultimately a fundamental part of the attractiveness and quality of the specific territory in which it is located.It is necessary to understand: on the one hand, the material value of the cultural goods, attending to the possession or ownership thereof; on the other hand, to its immaterial value, which relates it to the environment and gives us information. The intangible value would be the “value of civilization”, the reason why cultural goods are subject to legal protection and have a collective character. Criminal protection does not only cover the concept of Cultural Property, but it also operates on other values such as the ownership and defense of Public Administration in the Management of Historical Heritage.We analyze in this work the criminal protection of these goods and the last International Agreement that is interested in this topic.