Is Cultural Heritage a Legal and Political Construct?

Résumé 0

Many historical studies on heritage emphasize the legal dimension, in large part because the history of cultural heritage is deeply rooted in the law – and, inevitably, therefore, closely interlinked with the history of the State. Cultural heritage maintains a very complex relationship with the law on the one hand, and with the State on the other hand, a relationship that cannot be reduced to the mere instrumentalisation of cultural heritage by State, by means of the law. This article examines the central role played by the law in the heritage debate from two different perspectives. First, from an extra-legal perspective, this article investigates the role played by the law in the construction of heritage. Secondly, from an internal perspective, it looks at how heritage has been defined and mobilised by the French legal system. Does the heritage law simply express the State’s power deployed in favour of the preservation of heritage? Or does it reveal the conviction, more or less clearly expressed, that heritage is a shared and collective resource?