Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws Glossary
Disclaimer: The choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this work are those of the author and are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the endorsement on the part of the Secretariat of UNESCO concerning the legal interpretation of any of the terms contained within the work.
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Act - Law |
The creation, extinction, or transfer of a right by the operation of the law itself, without any consent on the part of the persons concerned.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary, Act-Law (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Agreement |
A mutual understanding between two or more legal entities about their relative rights and duties regarding past or future performances; a manifestation of mutual assent by two or more legal entities. The parties' actual bargain as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances, including course of dealing, usage of trade, and course of performance.* In the field of public international law, a treaty (an interchangeable term for the term “agreement”) is an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation.**
Source: * Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). ** Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties art 2(1)(a), United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1155, p. 331, 23 May 1969 |
|
| Amendment |
A formal revision or addition proposed or made to a statute, constitution, pleading, order, or other instrument; specifically, a change made by addition, deletion, or correction; esp., an alteration in wording.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary, (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Antiquities | ||
| Application for Authorization |
A request or petition for formal approval.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary, (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Archaeological objects or sites |
Any place where objects, features, or ecofacts manufactured or modified by human beings are found.* A material thing that can be seen and touched. Belonging to, having reference to, or dealing with archæology.** Any material remains of the past which offer potential for archaeological investigation and analysis as a means of contributing to the understanding of past human communities.***
Source: * The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Timothy Darvill. Oxford University Press, 2008.Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Santa Clara University. ** Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). *** The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Timothy Darvill. Oxford University Press, 2008.Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Santa Clara University. |
|
| Architecture |
Architectural work; structure, building.*
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Archives |
Collected and preserved public, historical, or institutional papers and records, and/or the place where public, historical, or institutional records are systematically preserved.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Armed Conflict |
International armed conflicts and non-international armed conflicts that have as a minimum two characteristics: (1) organized armed groups, (2) engaged in intense armed fighting.* An armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between States or protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups within a State.**
Source: * Geneva Conventions for the protection of war victims of 12 August 1949 and Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977; Initial Report on the Meaning of Armed Conflict in International Law, International Law Association Committee on the Use of Force (Professor Mary Ellen O'Connell (USA): Chair2008). ** ICTY, Prosecutor v. Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1, Decision on the Defense Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 70 (Oct. 2, 1995). |
|
| Arms |
Instruments of offence used in war; weapons.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Art |
Creative expression, or the product of creative expression.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Authorization |
A permission, usually revocable, to commit some act that would otherwise be unlawful; or, the certificate or document evidencing such permission.*
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Book |
A literary composition such as would occupy one or more volumes.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Burial grounds and graves |
A piece of ground set apart as devoted to the regular interment of the dead; a burying-ground, cemetery. A place of burial; an excavation in the earth for the reception of a corpse.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| By-law |
A rule or administrative provision adopted by an organization for its internal governance and its external dealings.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Ceramics |
Products of the ceramic art; pottery.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Certificate, Licence |
A document certifying the bearer's status or authorization to act in a specified way, usually to commit some act that would otherwise be unlawful.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Chart |
A charter, grant, title-deed; a deed or document of any kind.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Code | ||
| Coins |
Pieces of metal (gold, silver, copper, etc.) of definite weight and value, usually a circular disc, made into money by being stamped with an officially authorized device; pieces of money.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). |
|
| Collection | ||
| Compensation |
Remuneration and other benefits received in return for services rendered and/or Payment of damages, or any other act that a court orders to be done by a person who has caused injury to another.* In the context of the fight against the illicit traffic in cultural property, the term “compensation” is used both by the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects with regard to a good faith possessor or a person who has valid title to cultural property.**
Source: * Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). ** UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects Preamble, arts.4 (1)(2)(3), 6(1)(3), June 24, 1995; UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property art. 7(b)(ii), November 14, 1970. |
|
| Conservation |
Preservation from destructive influences, natural decay, or waste. The preservation of the environment, esp. of natural resources.* The maintenance of essential ecological processes and life-support systems, the preservation of genetic diversity, and the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.**
Source: * Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2 Edition 1989). ** Talbot, L. M. (1980) The World’s Conservation Strategy. Environmental Conservation 7: 259-68. (This definition of conservation is taken from the IUCN/WWF/UNEP World Conservation Strategy Definition). |
|
| Constitution | ||
| Convention | ||
| Copy |
An imitation or reproduction of an original.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 8th ed. 2004). |
|
| Criteria | ||
| Cultural Diversity |
The manifold ways in which the cultures of groups and societies find expression.
Source: UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, art. 4(1), October 20, 2005. |
|
| Customs |
The Government Service which is responsible for the administration of Customs law and the collection of duties and taxes and which also has the responsibility for the application of other laws and regulations relating to the importation, exportation, movement or storage of goods.
Source: World Customs Organization, Customs, International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, General Annex, Chapter 2, definitions, February 3, 2006. |
|
| Dealer trade |
The professional members of the trade in the import, export or transfer the ownership of cultural property.
Source: International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property, Adopted by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation at its Tenth Session, January 1999 and endorsed by the 30th General Conference of UNESCO, November 1999. |