Monaco

More detailed report: National Policy Report

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Glossary: Terms in French

National coordinator: Leticia DE MASSY

 CULTURAL HERITAGE POLICY

The Principality of Monaco is a hereditary and constitutional monarchy whose political and institutional regime is governed by the Constitution of 17 December 1962 (revised in 2002).

The Executive Power falls within the High Authority of the Prince, the direction of the services being entrusted to the Minister of State, assisted by five Government Councillors - Ministers who each head a Ministerial Department: Interior, Finance and Economy, Social Affairs and Health, Equipment Environment and Urban Planning, External Relations and Cooperation.

Within the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs is responsible for proposing any measure likely to give a new impetus to the Principality's intellectual and artistic life.

Faithful to the tradition of artistic patronage exercised by the Princes of Monaco, the Prince's Government pursues an active cultural and heritage policy, promoting the development of the arts in the Principality and contributing to the dissemination of culture and heritage to a wide public and in all its forms.

As a vehicle for the Principality's influence abroad and a component of its attractiveness, culture and heritage benefit from around 5% of the State budget, which is mainly devoted to supporting entities and artists, developing quality programming for local and regional as well as international audiences, developing projects relating to heritage and financing the operation of appropriate cultural facilities.

The cultural offer is wide and diversified in the Principality where the most varied cultural expressions have the opportunity to express themselves.

 

 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

Cultural Affairs Department

Initially the Cultural Affairs Department (instituted by Sovereign Order n°3505 of 1 March 1966) then transformed into the Cultural Affairs Department (instituted by Sovereign Order n°6490 of 13 March 1979 and revised by Sovereign Order n°6707 of 11 December 2017), the Department is composed of :

  • the General Administration Division;
  • the Division of International Cultural Cooperation;
  • the Events and Communication Division;
  • the Cultural Facilities Division;
  • the Heritage Institute;
  • the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology.

It is responsible for:

  1. to propose to the Government of Monaco the State's cultural policy and to carry out its actions;
  2. to monitor, coordinate and, where appropriate, encourage the activities of cultural associations;
  3. to ensure the supervision or to administer itself certain cultural associations which, by their importance or international character, fall within the field of governmental action;
  4. to ensure the management of the Heritage Institute, a service whose purpose is in particular to carry out and monitor the inventory of the State's artistic heritage, works of art and national furniture, the conservation of this heritage and, more generally, to fulfil all missions related to heritage;
  5. to ensure the management of the Museum of Anthropology of Monaco, a service whose main purpose is to ensure the conservation and enhancement of its collections, to promote research, excavations, archaeological missions and the reception of student researchers;
  6. to ensure the technical and administrative management of cultural facilities belonging to the State, and to ensure their availability in working order;
  7. to fulfil a mission of international cultural cooperation and to ensure the follow-up of the cultural conventions to which the Principality is a signatory;
  8. to implement complementary programming for theatre, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, cultural forums, etc.;
  9. to carry out any other mission in the field of culture entrusted to it by law or regulation.

Heritage Institute

The Heritage Institute (established by Sovereign Order No. 6708 of 11 December 2017), placed under the supervision of the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, is the State service responsible for centralising actions aimed at preserving and enhancing the national heritage.

The tasks conferred on it by Article 1 of Act No. 1.446 of 12 June 2017 are:

  1. to ensure the study, protection, conservation, restoration, enhancement and transmission to future generations of the national heritage, without prejudice to the missions devolved to the service of the State responsible for implementing the Principality's urban development policy;
  2. to draw up the laws and regulations relating to the preservation of the national heritage and to ensure their application, with the exception of those relating to urban planning, construction and roads;
  3. to carry out inventories of the intangible and movable cultural heritage in the custody of the State and to update them, with the exception of public archives covered by the regulations specific to public archives;
  4. to ensure the control of inventories and the monitoring of their implementation by bodies involved in the preservation of the intangible and movable cultural heritage;
  5. to contribute to the identification and location of immovable cultural heritage;
  6. in general, to prepare and design any measures of impetus or application relating to the preservation of the national heritage.

The Institute is also responsible for:

  1. to participate, on behalf of the Principality, with the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, in the work of international organisations within its field of competence;
  2. to provide the general secretariat of the Heritage Council;
  3. to organise the European Heritage Days in Monaco;
  4. any other mission entrusted to it by law or regulation

 

 LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Law n. 1.446 of 12/06/2017 on the preservation of national heritage

 

 RATIFIED INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

All ratified international agreements and/or treaties must be published in the Official Journal of Monaco, the purpose of which is to make the content of the agreement public and to introduce the agreement into the national legal system.

  • Convention concerning international exhibitions
    Paris, November 22, 1928
    Notification of accession on 29 May 1958
  • International Convention to Facilitate the International Circulation of Educational Films
    Geneva, 11 October 1933
    Signed on March 2, 1934
    Instruments of ratification deposited on 11 September 1934
    Entry into force January 15, 1935

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

  • European Cultural Convention
    Paris, 19 December 1954 (Council of Europe)
    Instruments of accession signed on 18 May 1994
    Filed on July 6, 1994
    Entry into force 6 July 1994
  • European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage
    Valletta, 16 January 1992 (Council of Europe)
    Signed on 21 October 1998
    Instruments of ratification signed on 21 October 1998
    Filed on October 21, 1998
    Entry into force April 22, 1999
  • European Convention for the Protection of the Audio-visual Heritage and the Protocol to the Convention on the Protection of the Audio-visual Heritage, on the Protection of Television Productions
    Strasbourg, 8 November 2001 (Council of Europe)
    Signed on September 10, 2003
    Instruments of ratification signed on 15 October 2003
    Filed on December 17, 2003
    Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2008
    Protocol entered into force on 1 January 2014
  • Partial agreement on cultural routes EPA
    Strasbourg, 8 December 2010 (Council of Europe)
    Notification of accession on 30 October 2012
    Entry into force on 1 January 2013

UNESCO

  • Convention establishing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
    London, 16 November 1945 (UNESCO)
    Signed on July 6, 1949
    Instruments of approval deposited on 6 July 1949
    Entry into force July 6, 1949
  • International Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific or Cultural Materials
    New York, 22 November 1950 (UNESCO)
    Signed on November 22, 1950
    Instruments of accession deposited on 18 March 1952
    Entry into force May 21, 1952
  • Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, with Regulations of execution
    The Hague, 14 May 1954 (UNESCO)
    Signed on May 14, 1954
    Instruments of ratification signed on 19 September 1957
    Filed on December 10, 1957
    Entry into force March 10, 1958
  • Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
    Paris, 14 November 1970 (UNESCO)
    Instruments of ratification signed on 18 August 2017
    Filed on August 25, 2017
    Effective November 25, 2017
  • Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
    Paris, 23 November 1972 (UNESCO)
    Signed on 23 November 1972
    Instruments of ratification signed on 9 October 1978
    Filed on November 7, 1978
    Entry into force February 7, 1979
  • Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
    Paris, 17 October 2003 (UNESCO)
    Instruments of acceptance signed on 16 May 2007
    Filed on June 4, 2007
    Effective September 4, 2007
  • Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions
    Paris, 20 October 2005 (UNESCO)
    Signed on 20 October 2005
    Instruments of acceptance signed on 20 July 2006
    Filed on July 31, 2006
    Effective March 28, 2007