NORMATIVE AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OFADOPTING A NEW ICOM MUSEUM DEFINITION

Abstract

During the 26th ICOM General Conference in Praguein 2022 a new museum definition was adopted. However,debates on it are much older, and while reaching merely theprevious 25th ICOM General Conference held in Kyoto in 2019 letus recall that it was there that an aborted attempt at introducingthe new museum definition, much differing from the currentone, took place. It is the normative and legal consequencesof the adoption of the new ICOM museum definition that arethe subject of the paper. It is possible for the normative ICOMoutput to be implemented in the domestic legal regulations.Interpretations and observations related to the questionare contained in the paper, however they finally lead to theconclusion that the literal wording of the museum definition assuch is not of major importance. As for the tendency, this showsthe extension of the name’s range although not conductedentirely spontaneously and freely.

Keywords

• ICOM
• museum definition
• museum legislation
• interpretation of the law