The Association for Monuments criticizes the proposed law and the strengthening of the role of the Ministry of Culture

Prague - The proposed monument law does not address the current problems of state monument care. What works today is being abolished, while the institutions that have proven inadequate or unsuitable are being retained. This was stated today at a press conference by representatives of several associations involved in monument care. The government's bill restricts citizens' ability to express their opinions on the matter, accumulates decision-making power at the Ministry of Culture (MK), and for example, does not address the controversial metal detectors.

The proposal will go to a second reading in the Chamber of Deputies on February 21. "It is necessary to revise it, either it will be revised by the deputies, which I do not hope for, or it will be returned to the minister for revision," said Martin Kadrman, vice president of the Association for the Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage (ASORKD). The association has long criticized the draft law, and the Ministry of Culture rejects its objections.

The Cultural Committee of the Chamber recommended in January that the law be approved with amendments concerning, for example, procedures for archaeological research or the continued ability to declare local monuments. However, some deputies are preparing further changes to the law, which the committee will only decide on after further discussions in the Chamber regarding the government's proposal.

According to Jiří Varhaník, former long-time director of the MK Monument Inspection, the shortcoming of the law is that it does not address the thousands of what he considers controversially registered cultural monuments. These are properties that have been on the list since the 1960s up to 1987, based on the law from 1958. The currently proposed law is intended to replace the one from 1987, which has been amended many times, and according to some critics, the existing regulation could continue to be effective. Proponents of the new law, on the other hand, argue that it is necessary, especially because property rights are now divided differently.

According to Varhaník, who works at the Association for Architectural and Historical Research, it was established by law in the 1960s and 70s that registrations of new monuments should be decided by the then district national committee. "Nevertheless, the vast majority of registrations were carried out without it, thus without legal grounds; there are 20,000 of them, including the most significant ones," he said.

This phenomenon has been known since 2001. "The Ministry of Culture has either tried to downplay it or deny it," he added. According to him, as a result, there is a huge number of monument owners who lack legal certainty. MK overlooks this and narrows its interest to registrations that were carried out only after the law from 1987 came into effect, he stated. According to him, the law does not bring any positives that would improve monument care in the Czech Republic.

According to MK, the law will provide authorities with the tools to intervene in cases where a monument is not being cared for by the owner. It is supposed to introduce higher fines for this reason. It should also allow property owners who are not protected, but who are subject to various restrictions due to their location in heritage areas, to apply for grants.