International Protection of Cultural Heritage and of the Environment

Sustainable development has acquired considerable relevance in the public debate, both within the countries and in the international community. Sustainable development is a multi-layered concept, and this course explores two of its aspects. The first one is environmental sustainability, which results in the adoption of national policies aimed at regulating the use of natural resources, in order to ensure their protection and prevent their impoverishment. The second aspect examined is the protection of cultural heritage. Access to the cultural heritage of a country is an important factor for social development and the enhancement of economic activities. To this end, public policies aim to preserve the social value of cultural heritage and prevent its degradation.
The course is composed of two modules. The first module covers the study of the international tools for environmental protection. In this regard, the global impact of current environmental emergencies (above all, climate change) results in the need for a strong cooperation among States. Therefore, this module provides an in-depth analysis of the contents and critical issues of international agreements and other tools aimed at restricting the room for manoeuvre available to national governments for establishing national policies on the use of natural resources. The second module is focused on international law for the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In fact, the main goal of some international organisations and agreements is the protection of cultural heritage, as well as its access and dissemination. To this end, this module aims to investigate the countries' obligations in the framework of international agreements, and the benefits of participating in such cooperation schemes. It also aims to examine whether a new notion of cultural heritage as a global public good could gain traction in the international legal system.

By the end of the course, students will be able to understand the importance and impact of international law on the establishment of national policies for the protection of the environment and the cultural heritage. Through the analysis of key international agreements, policies adopted by international organisations and decisions by national and international courts, students will be provided with the skills to: assess the impact of relevant agreements; understand and apply the governing law to assess real cases; present and discuss legal issues using the appropriate methodologies and terminology.