The International Regime for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage

The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention); which entered into force on 17 December 1975, established one of the oldest administrative regimes on the international level. The reason for the establishment of this regime was the insight of the international community that there exist natural and cultural places which are so unique and outstanding in the world that they should by no means get lost to the march of human generations' material progress but have to be protected and conserved or rather preserved for the future since they, irrespective of the territory on which they are located, belong to all peoples and, thus, form part of the common heritage of mankind. Although the UNESCO regime for the protection of World Heritage seems to be provided only with weak instruments such as the inscription ofproperties on the World Heritage List or on the List of World Heritage in Danger, its activities are increasingly present, not least in national administrative procedures. The cases of Yellowstone National Park in the United Stares; Cologne Cathedral and Dresden EIbe Valley in Germany, and Kakadu National Park in Australia are only few examples.Examining the regime for the protection of world heritage a little bit closer, what we will do in the following, reveals that it appears to be to a certain degree a prototype or rather model of international administration: It has an own organization, though not legally independent, its decision-making structures have emancipated from the merely multilateral processes, it extensively involves experts in its proceedings to foster legitimacy, and it is provided with instruments which have binding effects not least towards the States Parties to the underlying international agreement.