Financial and other incentives, sanctions and coercive measures

As we have considered in earlier themes, a law on cultural heritage should, in the wider public interest, aim to regulate the actions of citizens which impact on the heritage. By moving towards a system of greater involvement of citizens, including private owners and investors, it is necessary for a law to be balanced, including control and regulation of activites supervised by oficial institutions (negative measures) and assistance and incentives to help support private owners to conserve, restore or rehabilitate their properties (positive measures). A law that is purely a mechanism for protection and control will not have the desired effect in terms of engaging citizens in the process of preserving cultural heritage. This paper, therefore, considers these two aspects - the balance between positives incentives and the negative aspects of control and regulation. This paper also concentrates on the architectural heritage, as this is where there is the greatest need for financial assistance. Notwithstanding this fact, it may be important to consider providing a balance of tax incentives or other financial assistance for cultural goods in private collections for their conservation/restoration, as well as sanction measures.