The role of the superintendent of cultural heritage in sustainable development planning : time to question it?

Abstract

The aim of this work is to provide an analysis of the law relating to the role of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and how this law is applied in practice as well as in relation to other laws including the Development Planning Act and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal Act amongst others. To determine this, what was examined was the history which led to the establishment of the office of the Superintendence from the 1910 Ordinance up to the Cultural Heritage Act of 2002 including the evolution of development planning legislation in relation to the conservation of cultural property. It also explains what is meant by cultural heritage as it is defined under Maltese Law in order to establish what forms part of the remit of the role of the Superintendence. A crucial part of this dissertation focuses on the functions of the Superintendence as stated under article 7(5) of the Cultural Heritage Act and current applications of the law which exemplify where these laws come into play in real-world scenarios. Finally, the study evaluates the interplay of the functions of the Superintendence under this act with the Development Planning Act and the Environment and Review Tribunal Act and the result that ensues from such an interplay