Cultural Heritage in International Economic Law by Valentina Vadi

PART 1
 Cultural Heritage, Trade and Foreign Direct 
Investment: Defining and Connecting the Fields

CHAPTER 1
 Cultural Heritage in International Law
 A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
 Its loveliness increases; it will never
 Pass into nothingness.
 ∵
 1 
Introduction
 Culture lies at the heart of international law. The international community is 
made up of culturally diverse countries, and international law governs rela-
tions among different civilizations. Therefore, just, peaceful, and prosperous 
relations among nations depends on respect for cultural diversity and the self- 
determination of peoples, the latter including their capacity to determine their 
destiny and model of development. One of the very goals of the United Nations 
(UN) is to foster international cultural cooperation ‘with a view to the condi-
tions of stability and well-being necessary for peaceful and friendly relations 
among nations’ and to settle international conflicts of a cultural character.
 Since the aftermath of WWII, UNESCO has highlighted the close linkage 
between culture and peace: ‘since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in 
the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.’ Only 
by knowing each other’s ways of life and respecting cultural diversity, can 
mutual trust and peace be built among peoples. In fact, in order to last, peace 
should not be ‘based exclusively on the political and economic arrangements 
of  governments’; rather, peace should be founded upon ‘the intellectual and 

Cultural Heritage in International Economic Law by Valentina Vadi