Throughout the world, different laws exist that protect monuments.

International law

Under

international criminal law International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...

, monuments are considered a type of

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

and their systematic destruction is prohibited by various international agreements.

By country

Austria

Austrian laws protecting and preserving monuments have existed since 1853. The current law dates from 1923, and also protects the historic centers of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The

Federal Monuments Office The Federal Monuments Office (BDA; ) is a department of the Federal Chancellery of Austria, Federal Chancellery responsible for cultural heritage in Austria. History The BDA was established in 1853 under Emperor Franz Joseph I, as a central co ...

oversees monuments protection.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments oversees monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

France

The number of protected monuments in France has increased, so has the budget for maintaining them.

Germany

German law protects monuments from being destroyed during

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include ...

Hungary

Like other countries, Hungary has laws to regulate and protect historical monuments.

Poland

Thailand

The main legislation covering the protection of historical monuments in Thailand is the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums, B.E. 2504 (1961).

United Kingdom

In the UK, a bill against desecration of war memorials is being considered.

United States

The

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, , ) is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America. The act created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landm ...

protects historic sites in the United States, including monuments. A Pennsylvania law states that a person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he: (1) intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, or place of worship or burial; or (2) intentionally desecrates any other object of veneration by the public or a substantial segment thereof in any public place; Desecrate means defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the actor knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the action.