Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of War: A Study of the Gravity of Protection Rules vs the Weight of Violations

In many countries that have witnessed armed conflicts, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and currently Ukraine, cultural heritage is still subject to systematic targeting, but in different ways, which we have tried to analyse in light of the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international customary law (ICL). Researching the criteria of relative weight will help in reviewing the rules of IHL related to the protection of cultural heritage and vice versa; all of this will lead to filling the legal gaps in those rules. On the other hand, the relative gravity role can be viewed from two aspects: first, through dangerous behavior reaching the level of conviction of the need to address it according to customary and codified rules, and second, through examining that behavior after its prohibition and analysing the actus reus and mens rea element and the contextual circumstances of the crime scene. Therefore, the weight of each element of the crime will help in characterizing the crime on the one hand and determining the aggravating circumstances when proceeding with the conviction, as the looting of cultural heritage is less weighty than its total destruction. The destruction of a cultural heritage associated with a sacred belief is potentially the most dangerous in regard to cultural heritage that reflects the civilization of a people. With this analysis, the current protection rules can be rereviewed by emphasizing problematic and the most dangerous behaviours, and all of this will contribute to the establishment of strict preventive and remedial measures.