Governance and Tenure of Cultural Heritage in the light of Article 83 of the Constitution

The purpose of this study is to distinguish between sovereignty and state ownership in the field of cultural heritage in the light of Article 83 of the Constitution. Descriptive-analytical method is used to conduct research. The Civil Service Management Law makes the protection of cultural heritage one of the functions of government. In Article 115 of the General Accounting Law approved in 1987, in addition to repeating the ban on the transfer of national treasures, it also considers monuments and historical monuments non-transferable. Article 83 of the Constitution only prohibits the transfer of cultural heritage that is considered a national treasure. Ordinary national treasures are not defined or standardized, and it is the responsibility of a working group in the Department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts to determine this. The principle of non-transferability of national treasures is not absolute, but it is possible to transfer national treasures with the permission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, with the exception of unique national treasures. Although the monitoring, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage is essentially a sovereign practice, some government actions in this area are of a tenure nature, the separation of which in each case requires consideration of relevant laws and regulations.