European Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (revised)
The Malta Convention contains the European Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (revised; ETS No. 143). It was presented on January 16, 1992 at the 3rd European Conference of Ministers for the Cultural Heritage in Valletta / Malta. It came into force on May 25, 1995. The content has been developed since 1990 within the program of the Cultural Heritage Committee (CC-PAT). The revised version updates the 1969 agreement on the same subject (ETS No. 66).
Germany signed the revised treaty on January 16, 1992 and ratified it on January 22, 2003. The local entry into force was on July 23, 2003.
Preamble - the need for joint action
The purpose of this Convention is to safeguard and promote the common heritage of Europe and its partners, as Europe's archaeological heritage is seriously threatened with destruction by the growing number of large-scale planning projects, natural hazards, secret or unscientific excavations and insufficient public awareness. Therefore, the contracting parties undertake to:
Article 1 - Protection of knowledge
The aim is to protect all archaeological finds as a source of common European history and as an instrument for their scientific research. This includes all soil and water finds as well as above-ground monuments on the territory of the contracting parties. Movable objects, i.e. individual finds, are explicitly included.
Article 2 - Establishing a state protection system
A legal system to protect the archaeological heritage must be established, as well as an inventory of what is available. What is already there must be specially protected if necessary, and sites that are not visible above ground are to be preserved as protection zones for future generations. Every discoverer of an archaeological find must report his find and make it available for investigation purposes.
Article 3 - Prohibition of unauthorized excavations
In order for scientific research to be carried out, unauthorized excavation and the destruction of any archaeological remains are prohibited. Excavations may only be carried out under the guidance of specialists. If possible according to regional legislation, metal detectors and other search devices may only be used with a special permit. The scientists themselves must work as non-destructively as possible and preserve their sources even after the evaluation.
Article 4 - Concrete protective measures
The responsible authorities should protect the archaeological heritage as physically as possible: either through the creation of archaeological protection zones, through on-site preservation or through the creation of suitable storage locations.
Article 5 - Relationship between development measures and preservation
Archaeologists should be involved in spatial planning policy and involved in all stages of the development plans, as well as in the environmental impact assessments. Archaeologists, town planners and urban developers should meet systematically. The aim is to preserve the archaeological sources on site or to provide time and resources for their scientific investigation and their publication even before the development stage. The public is to be included in such a way that there are no disadvantages for the scientific character of the sites.
Article 6 - Funding for archaeological research and conservation
Each contracting party undertakes to provide public financial support for archaeological research as well as an increase in funds for archaeological rescue measures. This increase in the amount of the costs of the respective archaeological work should be linked to the sponsors of the respective development measure in specific cases, and the costs of a previous investigation should also be included in the budget of these projects.
Article 7 - Need for up-to-date publications
Each Contracting Party shall provide up-to-date plans, inventories and maps of archaeological sites in its area and, once archaeological work has been completed, shall ensure a timely published summary of the results as well as a separate full publication.
Article 8 - Promotion of scientific exchange
National and international exchange of scientific archaeological work should not be hindered, central information collection and international research programs should be promoted.
Article 9 - Promotion of the public interest in archeology
Public awareness of the value of the archaeological heritage is to be promoted through educational policy measures and public access to important finds and sites or their replicas.
Article 10 - Handling of illegal finds
Any unauthorized excavations that have been discovered must be reported to the specialists - on the one hand, they destroy the scientific value of the finds and, at the same time, destroy the site. Stolen, illegally dug, unsupervised objects and objects of unclear origin must be reported. Such objects may not be purchased by government institutions or museums. Non-governmental museums and institutions should be encouraged to do the same. The sale (transfer of ownership) of such objects is to be prevented as far as possible.
Article 11 - Legal Scope
This agreement does not prejudice current or future contracts for the unauthorized transfer of objects of the archaeological heritage or their return.
Article 12 - Internationalization of a high academic level
The contracting parties undertake to provide mutual technical and scientific assistance and to promote further training and international exchange between experts.
Article 13 - Controlling and organizational matters relating to the agreement
A Committee of Experts will monitor the application of this Convention and will be set up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe under Article 17 of the Statute of the Council of Europe. Other tasks: regular reports to the Council of Ministers on the status of the agreement, proposals for promoting or revising the agreement, for informing the public and proposals for inviting non-member states to join.
Article 14 - Entry into force
The signed Convention still requires ratification, acceptance or approval. Before doing so, the Convention for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, signed in London in 1969, must be denounced. The current convention will enter into force six months after the date on which at least three Council of Europe member states and one other state have expressed their consent to be bound by the convention. For each country that later approves, it comes into force six months after the deposit of the ratification, acceptance or approval instrument.
Article 15 - Invitations to join
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite states that are not members of the Council of Europe and the European Economic Community to accede to the Convention. In the event of membership, this is valid six months after depositing the membership certificate.
Article 16 - Regional scope
Upon accession, each state can name one or more territories to which the Convention applies. Territories can also be added or excluded later. Extensions and withdrawals are valid after six months.
Article 17 - Termination
The agreement can be terminated at any time by either contracting party. The notice period is six months.
Article 18 - Notification
Notification of accession to the Convention is given by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession are also deposited there, as well as any other act in connection with this Convention.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Detailed information from the Council of Europe on the revised European Convention for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage.
- ↑ Summarized and compared with the explanations according to: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=143&CM=1&CL=GER