Purpose of law, harmonisation of terms, categorisation of protected items and the link to inventories/registers

Since its foundation, the Council of Europe has developed a rigorous philosophy of democracy based on the protection of human rights. This includes the aprticipation of citizens in community life; respect for the rights of others; the right to own property; freedom of association; the right to pluralist information; freedom of the press and so forth. These issues are embodied in the European Convention on Human Rights and have been confirmed by the subsequent findings of the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, the right to heritage necessarily forms one element of the whole entity. Furthermore, the need for unity and the recognition of diversity in the protection of cultural heritage was specified in the Final Declaration of the Fourth Conference of European Ministers responsible for the Cultural Heritage.