ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to stress that working and planning prior to armed conflict is key for any kind of post-conflict heritage work, and that the requirements of the Convention create multiple opportunities for concerned scholars during peace. The Convention is binding on those state parties that ratify or accede to it. Nations that have not formally agreed to the Convention may be bound by its practices, if those are considered to have become part of customary international law. The Convention was significantly influenced by the work carried out during World War Two by the Allied Forces Monument, Fine Arts, and Archives officers, referred to as the "Monuments Men". However, the concept of cultural property protection (CPP) during armed conflict predated World War Two. One generally accepted starting point for CPP and the first formally drafted military order to limit the conduct of war was the Unites States Army's General Order 100 of 1863, also known as the Lieber Code.