Contested Monuments and International Law
Across Europe and around the world, issues of memory and old monuments are being revisited. The shift of historical narratives resulted in the loss of social consensus about the past and interpretation of history. Since monuments are among the most visible expressions of history they have appeared in the middle of contestation and heated debates. The conflicts over monuments are prima facie domestic. Yet, they generate also multiple tensions in the context of international law. The research should engage with the controversy around the contested monuments from the perspective of international law, and particularly analyse the removal of monuments in the context of international cultural heritage law and international human rights law: is there a right to destroy?