Sanctioning Cultural War Crimes. From the 1954 Hague Convention to National Legislations

As Article 28 of the 1954 Hague Convention indicates, the prosecution of war crimes, including those relating to the destruction of cultural property during armed conflict, remains a purely national responsibility. Under this provision, States parties are required to take all necessary measures within their ordinary criminal jurisdiction to prosecute and impose criminal or disciplinary sanctions on persons who violate the Convention. The generality and vagueness of its content, as well as the absence of a list of offences against cultural property in the case of armed conflict, have slowed the process of national implementation. With the introduction of the Second Protocol in 1999 and the identification of grave breaches of the Convention, most States parties have defined cultural war crimes and also established specific penalties.