Amendments are being made to the Criminal Code, the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Laws "On the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments," and "On Culture", Azernews reports.

The draft law was discussed at a joint meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy and State Building and the Committee on Culture held on December 5.

The submitted draft law has been prepared with the aim of clarifying provisions related to the protection of cultural property and increasing liability.

The draft law also aims to differentiate liability for acts involving the damage or destruction of cultural property based on the amount of harm caused and the form of guilt.

According to the amendments, legal entities may also be held criminally liable for intentionally damaging or destroying cultural property, as well as for negligently destroying such property. In addition, failure to immediately halt construction or other economic activities when a historical or cultural monument is discovered, and failure to report this to the relevant authority designated by the executive power, as well as failure to hand over monuments found in treasure hoards to the state, will be considered administrative offenses.

Legal definitions of the concepts "damage to cultural property" and "destruction of cultural property" are being added to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Culture."

The draft law prohibits the damage or destruction of cultural property regardless of its level of protection, its relocation without the approval of the relevant authority designated by the executive power, as well as any construction, restoration, reconstruction, conservation, or landscaping work that violates their integrity or poses a threat to them.

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