Future generations in law
2024-10-09
In a new paper in the International Journal of Cultural Property, the Glasgow-based law scholar Andreas Giorgallis discusses the idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations in international cultural heritage law.
Giorgallis (2024: 1-2) points out that the idea of protecting cultural heritage to bequeath it to future generations is probably the most commonly cited rationale upon which legal regulation is justified. But nevertheless, law scholars hardly ever studied it. Instead, he notes, intergenerational concerns for cultural heritage “have migrated to other fields of studies, including heritage studies, cultural economics, museum studies, archaeology, and anthropology taking on sizable portions of the discourse”. Here, he also cites some of the work of authors associated with the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures.
Intriguingly, Giorgallis confirms (2024: 11) that none of the routine legislative pieces referring to future generations designates their exact identity nor does it determine their rights and obligations regarding cultural heritage.
Giorgallis also suggests (2024: 18) that “[a]ttempting to predict the tastes and priorities of future generations in cultural heritage is not an easy enterprise. The danger of imposing a majoritarian take on contemporary tastes in a rather paternalistic and neocolonial way is ever-present…” But this risk of presentism can be avoided by drawing on foresight and futures literacy – which is a capability our Chair is building among global heritage professionals.
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Giorgallis A. The idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations in international cultural heritage law. International Journal of Cultural Property. Published online 2024:1-24. doi:10.1017/S0940739124000171
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