ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Legal, Administrative And Financial Issues

Background
by Werner von Trützschler, President

At the Ninth General Assembly of ICOMOS in Lausanne in 1990 I made the acquaintance of the Canadian Marc Denhez, who told me about his idea for establishing an international specialized ICOMOS committee on legislation and finance. The need for such a committee became more and more evident to me during the years that I was a member of the ICOMOS Executive Committee. At the request of ICOMOS President Roland Silva in particular I attempted to set up such a committee. It quickly became clear that, in order to be successful, these efforts needed to attract the support not so much of the National Committees but rather of interested individuals. I found a partner in Professor Wojciech Kowalski from Katowitz University, a colleague who was ready from the very start to work effectively to turn the idea into reality. We agreed that an ICOMOS committee on questions of law should not be an end in itself, but rather should handle the comparative legal aspects of a particular theme at each of its meetings, which hopefully will take place annually.

For the founding conference of the ICOMOS International Committee on Legal, Administrative and Financial Issues we chose the theme "Legal Structures of Private Sponsorship and Participation in the Protection and Maintenance of Monuments", a topic that has particular relevance as public funding for preservation becomes more and more scarce worldwide. The conference in Weimar on 17-19 April 1997 was a success in two respects. The papers formed the basis for a fruitful exchange of information and opinions by participants from eighteen countries; they conveyed a broad picture not only of various legal forms in differing legal systems, but also of their practical significance and application. But in addition to this scientific output the Weimar conference was the launching place of the ICOMOS International Committee on Legal, Administrative and Financial Issues, which in the meantime has been formally confirmed by the ICOMOS Executive Committee in accordance with the ICOMOS bylaws. The new committee's bylaws and a working program that was agreed upon in Weimar are also included in this web site.

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For further information on this page or the International Legal Committee, contact James K. Reap.

This page last updated July, 2000.