Centre for Cultural Heritage Law and Sustainable Development

The Centre for Cultural Heritage Law and Sustainable Development was established at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in May 2026. Its primary objective is to advance research on the protection and governance of cultural heritage from the perspective of comparative public law and international law. The Centre’s research agenda responds to the growing importance of culture and cultural heritage in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda.

The Centre’s activities focus in particular on comparative cultural heritage law, the role of international law in combating the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, the legal aspects of the impact of climate change on cultural heritage, as well as the development of tools and methods for assessing and measuring the effectiveness, coherence, and societal impact of law on cultural life.

The Centre serves as a platform for conducting research projects funded through national and international funding schemes, preparing scholarly publications, and fostering cooperation within international academic and expert networks, thereby contributing to the development of interdisciplinary research on cultural heritage law.