Art & Cultural Heritage Law - HSSO15
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This course focuses on the legal regulation of art and cultural heritage, with particular attention to artworks, museum collections and exhibition practice. It introduces students to the historical development of the field and explores the interplay of legal history, private law and public law in Czech, European and international contexts. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach and draws not only on law, but also on museology, art history and philosophy in order to explain how law responds to the creation, protection, circulation and interpretation of art. Topics covered include the legal framework of museums, cultural heritage protection, international mobility of cultural objects, exhibition practice, provenance research and restitution, the art market, and selected legal challenges of the digital age. The course does not aim to cover all categories of cultural property; it focuses primarily on art rather than, for example, natural history or mineralogical collections.
Syllabus: 1. Introduction to Art & Cultural Heritage Law: Concepts, Sources and Historical Development 2. Museums and Cultural Institutions: Legal Forms and Governance in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria (JUDr. Jiří Rajchl, Ph.D.) 3. Protection of Cultural Heritage in International and European Law I. 4. Protection of Cultural Heritage in International and European Law II. 5. International Mobility of Cultural Objects: Loans, Cross-Border Movement, Immunity from Seizure and State Guarantees 6. Legal Aspects of Organising an Art Exhibition 7. Provenance Research and Restitution of Nazi-Confiscated Art 8. The Art Market: Auctions, Authenticity and Forgeries 9. Art in the Digital Age: Digitisation, Crypto Art and Artificial Intelligence 10. Artistic Freedom, Freedom of Expression and Cultural Policy Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: • navigate the principal concepts, sources and institutions of art and cultural heritage law in international, European and selected national contexts; • understand how legal history, private law and public law interact in the regulation of artworks, museums, exhibitions and cultural heritage protection; • identify and discuss selected legal issues relating to the mobility of cultural objects, provenance research, restitution claims, the art market and digital art; • appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of the field and work with perspectives drawn not only from law, but also from museology, art history and philosophy; • better understand the legal and cultural challenges connected with the protection, circulation and presentation of art in contemporary society. Relevant reading materials will be announced in advance. The course will be completed by a presentation on a selected topic, prepared and delivered in groups of three students, followed by an oral discussion with the examiner. Poslední úprava: Marešová Svatava, Ing. (27.05.2026)
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