Actividades ilícitas contra el patrimonio arqueológico

Abstract

Archaeological goods field is nowadays highly regulated. In Spain there are eighteen statutes regulating Cultural Heritage matters, as well as an enormous number of norms (ranging from the definition of crimes to the regulation of aspects such as urbanism and territorial planning, sponsorship, property rights, administrative organization, and Natural Heritage) that have a big incidence in its legal regime. In other words: there has never been another moment in our History with so many norms aimed to protect and promote the maintenance and conservation of Archaeological Heritage, nor a more favorable legal framework to preserve the elements of our Past, at least from a theoretical point of view. However, the media constantly shows new instances of actions that harm the integrity of these goods and courts keep having to deal with cases that expose the system’s weak points. Objectives The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the actual sanctioning legal regime regarding archaeological goods, and to analyze which legal tools in the field of Administrative Law Resumen Español‐Inglés can be used to react to harmful actions against these goods. The objective is, therefore, to inquire about the instruments foreseen by the Spanish legal system to respond to illicit actions against Archaeological Heritage and to propose measures that reinforce its protection. As a secondary objective, this thesis wants to present a historical contextualization of the concept of Archaeological Heritage and its legal regime, aspects that are essential to understand the current regulation...