LEGAL TRAINING (INTERNATIONAL)

The course “International Protection of Cultural Heritage” aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the normative and institutional instruments that regulate the protection of cultural heritage at the international level. To this end, particular attention will be devoted to the analysis of the main relevant conventions, as well as of international mechanisms for the protection, safeguarding, and preservation of cultural heritage. The course will have a practical approach: through international case law and case studies, participants will be called upon to engage with topical issues such as the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in peacetime and in the context of armed conflicts, individual criminal responsibility for the intentional destruction of cultural heritage, combating illicit trafficking, and the restitution and return of cultural property to their countries of origin.

A solid command of international law is more than preferable.

- Knowledge and understanding: by attending lectures and proactively engaging in teaching activities, students will learn to navigate contemporary international law, with a sufficient knowledge of legal categories and fundamental problems of the subject. - Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: students will learn to identify practical implications underlying legal issues addressed during the course. They will also have to develop legal argumentations in line with the practice of international law. - Autonomy of judgment: based on the acquired notions, students will develop autonomy of assessment and judgment on the topics of the course and will be able to deal with the challenges arising within the context of international adjudication. The development of critical thinking will be encouraged, also through the production of papers to be discussed in class. - Communication skills: students will learn the technical legal terminology and how to adequately construe convincing legal argumentations. For this purpose, students will be involved in activities where they will be asked to act as counsels and to defend specific legal positions. - Learning skills: students will learn how to autonomously apply acquired skills to future problems and scenarios other than those addressed in class, through the appropriate use of research methodologies.

The course will offer an in-depth analysis of the international legal regime relating to the protection, safeguarding, and preservation of cultural heritage, highlighting the development of international cultural heritage law and its place within the general international law system. The main relevant conventions on the subject will be examined, paying attention to the distinction between instruments applicable in peacetime and in the context of armed conflicts, while also analyzing the role of UNESCO and other international institutions advancing the protection of cultural property. Attention will be devoted to examining the regime of international protection of cultural heritage in times of war, focusing on, inter alia, the 1954 Hague Conventions and its Protocols. The topic of international criminal responsibility for the intentional destruction of cultural heritage will also be covered, taking into account the relevant developments in the caselaw of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court. The course will also address the protection of cultural heritage in peacetime, analyzing the 1972 UNESCO Convention and the World Heritage List system. The relationship between the protection of cultural heritage and the protection of the environment will be further investigated, paying particular attention to risks arising from climate change, natural disasters and industrial activities. Some lectures will then be devoted to the protection of underwater heritage, regulated by the 2001 UNESCO Convention, and of intangible heritage, governed by the 2003 UNESCO Convention, investigating the relationship between cultural heritage and the protection of human rights also in light of the challenges posed by globalization. Finally, the illicit trafficking of cultural property, the return and restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, as well as issues related to the protection of cultural heritage in the field of foreign investment. Given the practical approach of the course, lectures will be complemented by case studies and practical exercises drawn from international caselaw.

Study materials will be provided during the course through the MyLuiss course page. They are not intended as substitute sources for notes collected in class.

Lectures, discussions of case studies, simulations of practical cases, and possible seminars by Italian and international experts.

Students will be evaluated based on: - Their presence and proactive participation during lectures, discussions and group activities carried out in class, as well as their capacity to present papers and to construe solid legal arguments on the legal issues addressed during the course (60%); - The result of the final exam, consisting of a written test (40%).

Since it is a pass/fail course, students are not eligible to request thesis assignment in this subject