Serbia: Current Risk in Heritage Protection

Abstract

The important political and social changes in Serbia in the early 21st century started a process of democratisation, establishing closer ties with Europe, which contributed to intensified efforts for ratifying international conventions in the field of heritage protection and management from 2007 onwards.1 However, despite positive efforts, the protection and preservation of the cultural heritage in Serbia still show signs of a transitional phase with many of the general problems well-known in the former Eastern European countries, as well as specific conditions which are the result of recent political conflicts in the region, presenting a risk to the preservation of heritage. In addition, the cultural heritage in Serbia is also exposed to quite specific risks connected with an extremely acute economic crisis, which marked all activities of the heritage protection service during the 1990s. This is reflected in the problems of collaboration between official institutions and civil organisations. A crucial problem is non-compliance of the current Law on Cultural Properties from 19942 with international recommendations, and there is an urgent need to revise this act...