The Santander Art and Culture Law Review (SAACLR) is a peer-reviewed international journal published by the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Property Law (Centrum Prawa Ochrony Dóbr Kultury UNESCO) at the University of Opole, Faculty of Law and Administration. SAACLR was established in 2015 as a part of Santander Universidades projects, organized by the Santander Group, and is published on a bi-annual basis.

The SAACLR’sprimary mission is to advance critical research relating to the intersection between law, culture, cultural diversity, and cultural heritage. The journal also seeks to promote social participation and the conscious, responsible management of cultural heritage at the local, national, regional, and international levels. SAACLR presents the results of the latest cultural heritage research and trends; an analysis of current relevant jurisprudence, administrative practice, and cultural policy; as well as diagnoses regarding the development of methods and forms of cultural heritage management. Finally, the journal produces reports on the latest events, conferences and seminars in the field of law, art, and cultural heritage, and promotes new social and scientific initiatives and inspiring publications.

Each odd-numbered issue of the journal is published in Polish, while each even-numbered issue is in English. All SAACLR issues contain a ‘Varia’ section, in order to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions and include the contributions of researchers working in the following fields: art history, philology, anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies. Furthermore, the ‘Debuts’ section was created to encourage young researchers, who now have an invaluable opportunity to present their work and gain exposure. SAACLR organizes competitions for young researchers and continues to act as an institutional partner of the Cultural Heritage Law Seminar for young researchers, PhD candidates and students in Lubostron, which is an annual scientific event taking place since 2013.

The journal’s readers come from diverse fields and include the following: researchers, legal practitioners, political dissidents, entrepreneurs, and actors from the NGO sector. The journal is also targeted towards students participating in courses regarding the management of cultural institutions, the art market, and cultural heritage protection.

The journal is indexed in Scopus, CEJSH, CEEOL and ERIH PLUS.

Apart from its publishing activities, the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Property organises conferences, expert panels, workshops, guest lectures and summer seminars. Our goal is to disseminate the results of research projects, to share knowledge with international contributors, and to cooperate with 86 UNESCO Chairs, which have been created in a variety of subjects related to culture. The activity of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Property Law team is diverse and vast. It encompasses contributions to international projects on participatory cultural heritage management models and creative industries (for example Forget Heritage within Interreg Central Europe, HEURIGHT14 within JPI on Cultural Heritage and Global Change), and cooperation with local governments and governmental bodies responsible for cultural policy. We are partners to the international project launched by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) – UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project (UCAP). This project foresees the construction of an international network comprised by institutions and experts, dedicated to legal regulations on illicit traffic of cultural objects. 

Publishing the interdisciplinary journal and presenting legal problems linked to culture and cultural heritage are some of the core tasks entrusted to the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Property international team. UNESCO Chairs within the UNESCO UNITWIN/Chairs Programme are meant to act as bridge builders and support the achievement of the UN Agenda’s 30 Sustainable Development Goals. Regarding the dissemination of educational, scientific, and cultural knowledge, SAACLR is firmly in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ,focusing on goals dealing with cultural heritage protection, cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, and active participation in culture. 

In particular, Santander Art and Culture Law Review’s publishing and knowledge dissemination activities are aligned with the following Agenda 2030 targets:

• 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
• 16.4 By 2030 significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime – regarding illicit traffic of cultural goods and money laundering.
• 17.17 Encourage and promote effective public and public-private and civil society partnerships building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.