Historic preservation associations criticize the preparation of the law, the Ministry of Culture rejects it

Prague - The Association for the Protection of Monuments and the Association of Professional Conservators are criticizing the proposal for the monument protection law. They claim it reduces the scope of monument protection, does not define the protection of tangible cultural heritage as a public interest, and does not bring the desired systemic changes. The Association for the Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage (ASORKD) is calling for Culture Minister Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) to dismiss his deputy for monument care, Anna Matoušková. The ministry rejects the criticism.
    The current government is expected to introduce a new monument law this year after several unsuccessful attempts by previous administrations. The law is intended to replace the repeatedly amended statute from 1987, which is incompatible not only with current property relations but also with many other aspects of contemporary cultural heritage protection.
    "The ASORKD's call must be wholly rejected, particularly because it does not provide a single specific proof for its assertions or point to specific wording of the proposed monument protection law that would be problematic - the call is mired only in vague formulations,” stated Culture Ministry spokesperson Simona Cigánková to ČTK.
    The ministry rejects the association's criticism that the proposal is consulted only with those who agree with it, referring to its website where records of discussions “testifying to a continuous and very responsible discussion of many issues within a wide spectrum of opinions” are available. MK considers the claim that the proposal aims to reduce the scope of monument protection to be "outrageous." "On the contrary, the proposal responds to a number of realities that cannot be enforced in the field of monument care today,” the ministry defends itself.
    "The existing law from 1987 has 47 paragraphs, while the draft published in January has 151 paragraphs. The law is bloating, complicating everything and allowing for almost endless interpretations, which will lead to a series of legal disputes. At the same time, it creates a breeding ground for corrupt and non-transparent behavior,” says ASORKD Vice President Martin J. Kadrman.
    According to critics, the process of preparing the law is not transparent. They argue that the entire law reflects the transfer of responsibility for protecting tangible cultural heritage from the state to other entities. They also claim that general norms, particularly the building code and civil code, which are superior to specialized law, have not been incorporated into the proposal, according to the statement of the Association of Professional Monument Care Workers (SPPPP).
    "In the case of the Civil Code, it is a fundamentally important matter - the definition of tangible and especially intangible things. Every monument consists of values defined as tangible and intangible; among the intangible are concepts such as age, artistic value, authenticity, character, genius loci, and specific properties like sound in the case of monuments such as bells or organs,” the critics state.
    According to them, the creator of the law completely overlooks not only the superior legal norms but primarily the fact that terms describing intangible values commonly appear in international treaties adopted by the Czech Republic and in methodological materials for heritage care.