From the Neolithic temples to the city of Valletta : the interpretation of Maltese cultural heritage law terminology within an international and European perspective

Abstract

This paper argues that a key difficulty in promoting cultural heritage law remains the inherent uncertainty over the key terminology of 'cultural rights' and 'cultural heritage'. Such terms are used interchangeably, while associated concepts also lack coherent definition. It identifies and discusses the salient provisions of European cultural heritage law advanced both by the Council of Europe and the European Union, with a special focus on their enforcement mechanism. This paper also provides a case-study of Malta to establish the extent to which such provisions been incorporated in municipal law and what measures need to be taken by Malta, concluding that additional measures are required by the Maltese authorities to incorporate all related instruments into its domestic law.