The Law for Protection of Cultural Heritage (2004) defines public services in this field and all available legal mechanisms to ensure the protection of cultural monuments. Cultural heritage may be publicly or privately owned and may be exported only in exceptional cases with permission from the Minister of Culture.
Private owners have an obligation to care and maintain cultural heritage and property, and to provide access to them for scientific / cultural research purposes and in some cases to provide access to the general public. Under certain conditions the owner has the right to receive compensation from the Ministry for some maintenance costs.
In 2007, the Law for Protection of Cultural Heritage was amended, in order to harmonise it with EU legislation and standards. Bigger changes were made in the procedure of restitution of cultural heritage goods, the measures for getting permission for archaeological excavations, some of the control measures etc.
In 2004, the Ministry of Culture established a new Cultural Heritage Protection Office (CHPO) as a constituent part of the Ministry, operating as a legal entity.
Organisational structure CHPO:
There is special legislation on the protection of archival material and its handling, librarianship, and the preservation of films and film material of historic, artistic and other cultural significance.
There are several recent major issues for heritage policies:
- new strategy for protection of cultural heritage and a new law on protection of the cultural heritage;
- revision of the National Registry of Cultural Heritage (especially for the illegal entries made during the notorious project “Skopje 2014”);
- revalorisation of the cultural heritage;
- illegal archaeological excavations and illicit traffic of cultural heritage, etc.
Cultural heritage protection and archaeological excavations have been the government’s top priority in the past several years. The budget for archaeological excavations, especially in 2006-2009, tripled compared to the years before, but is declining since then.
Table 1: CHPO – 2016 – 2018 budget
| Cultural Heritage Protection Office | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salaries, goods, services, transfers, capital expenses | 45 552 000 | 48 066 000 | 49 550 000 |
| Activities | 155 587 000 | 149 294 000 | 133 200 000 |
| Total in MKD | 201 139 000 | 197 306 000 | 191 550 000 |
| Total in EUR | 3 297 360 | 3 234 524 | 3 140 163 |
| Cultural Heritage Protection Office | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salaries, goods, services, transfers, capital expenses | 45 552 000 | 48 066 000 | 49 550 000 |
| Activities | 155 587 000 | 149 294 000 | 133 200 000 |
| Total in MKD | 201 139 000 | 197 306 000 | 191 550 000 |
| Total in EUR | 3 297 360 | 3 234 524 | 3 140 163 |
Source: Ministry of Finance, Budget 2016/17/18
In July 2013, the director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office and the chief inspector for protection of cultural heritage were arrested as part of the so called “Falanga 2” process for issuing permits for illegal archaeological excavations and helping to illicit trafficking. In June 2014 the director was sentenced to three years in prison, and the chief inspector to five years.
In 2013, the CHPO established a National Information System for Cultural Heritage. This portal provided an overview of the immovable, movable and intangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Macedonia. Its purpose was to present data about the heritage to the general public.
In 2017, the National Council for Cultural Heritage was constituted within the Ministry of Culture. It consists of 11 members and the president of the Council is the Minister of Culture.
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