Experts criticize Staněk's proposal for the heritage conservation law

Prague – Art historians and academics have rejected a proposal for a heritage protection law presented by former Minister Antonín Staněk (Social Democrats) in an open letter. They claim the law "inexplicably" weakens the role of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), was discussed in an extremely short period, neglects archaeology, and complicates the restoration of monuments. Experts are calling on the Ministry of Culture and the government to suspend the discussion of the law, withdraw the proposal, and return it to the phase of expert discussion.

Among the signatories of the letter are rectors of art universities Tomáš Vaněk (AVU) and Jindřich Vybíral (UMPRUM), the director of the Institute of Art History of the Academy of Sciences Tomáš Winter, the vice-rector of Charles University Jan Royt, and the director of the Institute for Art History at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University Richard Biegel, who provided the letter to ČTK. "The mentioned letter has not yet arrived at the Ministry. Once it does, we will be able to comment," said the Ministry's spokesperson Martha Häckl to ČTK today.

"The proposal for the law was prepared in an extraordinarily short time, non-transparently, and without adequate discussion with the professional community. This approach is contrary not only to usual legislative practices but also to the procedures used for preparing previous proposals, which were discussed sufficiently long and transparently," the signatories of the letter state.

They protested a year ago against a proposal where the then mayor Adriana Krnáčová tried to ensure that municipal heritage conservationists could make decisions without regard to the opinion of the NPÚ. The law currently presented is revised, yet it again weakens the role of the NPÚ. "It is extremely alarming that the Ministry of Culture's proposal consciously lowers the quality of care for monuments and marginalizes the professional institution, which is precisely established by the ministry," the experts assert.

According to them, the proposal completely neglects archaeology, which is an integral part of cultural heritage. They also argue that the draft makes it more difficult to teach restoration, thus threatening the existence of the restoration field.

The proposal for a new heritage protection law, which the Ministry of Culture promised to present in September, has already undergone an amendment process. The proposal had previously been criticized by the Czech Chamber of Architects and the opposition Pirates, who prepared their own amendment. The Chamber pointed out, for example, the imbalance between the rights and obligations of property owners and that the proposal focuses solely on the maintenance and conservation of monument-protected objects. The Chamber is also dissatisfied that the owner of a monument-protected building does not have the right to a financial contribution for its repair.

The NPÚ also disagrees with the proposal; according to its director Nadi Goryczková, the weakening of the NPÚ’s role is apparent. According to her, the institute should no longer comment on all monuments and interventions in heritage areas as before but only on a selected part.

However, the Ministry claims that the proposed text is intended to strengthen the legal certainties of owners and other entities operating in heritage care, as well as to make the heritage care system more flexible and efficient. It establishes the rights and obligations of owners of cultural monuments and properties in heritage areas, and a new system for compensation for the obligation to care for the monument is to be introduced.