ABSTRACT
While addressing the need to protect and preserve areas of cultural interest, including holy places, there is no internationally acknowledged definition or designation of a holy place.1 The lack of a specific focus on holy places as such necessitates an understanding of the general perspective adopted by the international system towards holy places, especially since such insight can provide assistance and direction regarding domestic law as well as create binding obligations on states. In reviewing a variety of treaties and resolutions, the pertinent aspect for
holy places within international law is the framework by which the international system applies protections. Protection for holy places derives either from the system’s desired ends concerning a particular site or object, or the use of the site following the implementation of a human right. The identified approaches within the international system may be divided into an object-oriented approach, whereby the integrity of the object is what compels the protection of a holy place, as opposed to a more subjective, functional, aspect of the place, where the focus lies within assertions by individuals or groups who require a holy place for a specific purpose. The two approaches diverge due to the desired ends for creating the protection in the first place. This in turn leads to a difference in the scope of accorded protection.
