The Hellenic Society for Law and Archeology (HSLA)

Cultural heritage law is one of the most complex “legal arenas” involving all three main legal fields: civil, public and criminal law and that on national, regional and international level.

This complexity of laws and the lack of proper accesses to information creates an ambiguity for the people and institutions involved with culture and archaeology and thus hindering progress and leading to delays in the development of new policies.

Wanting to contribute to the legal protection of cultural heritage and to cover the lack of information in the field a group of Greek lawyers and archaeologist created in 2006 in Athens a nonprofit organization called Hellenic Society for Law & Archeology.

Our main purpose:

• to contribute to the development of Cultural Heritage Law with special focus on Antiquities Law
• to act as a strictly impartial center for Greek and foreign experts and other interested persons and bodies
• to raise public awareness on relevant legal issues
• and thereby protect cultural heritage – not only the Greek the Greek cultural heritage but that of humanity.

 What we do:

·        Our website keeps you informed on national and international news, Greek legislation and court decisions and acts as an open discussion forum.

• We support research by scholars, university students, and public officials
• We organize seminars, symposia, conferences
• We take an active role in public debate on cultural heritage issues as they arise.

What we deal with:

 - Illicit trade in looted and stolen antiquities
- Recovery and restitution of stolen antiquities
- Property rights/real estate, public works and city planning
- Legal protection and reservation of archaeological sites and finds
- Private collectors rights and obligations
- Tax regulations
- Insurance issues
- Excavation, research and publication rights and responsibilities