The Problem of the Rights and Legal Subjectivity of Culture
Research into protecting culture and theoretical research in cultural ecology has highlighted the problem of culture’s rights. The "Culture Rights Declaration", a project based on the ideas of D.S. Likhachev and offered by the Russian Federation to UNESCO, has not been adopted, partly because culture is not considered a legal subject. The issue of rights and legal subjectivity is still being debated, but the concept of culture’s rights is not found in “Foundations of State Cultural Policy” approved by the President of the Russian Federation. There are moral and political reasons suggesting that these discussions be continued. The problem of culture’s rights and subjectivity requires developments in the fields of philosophy, culture and law. The author uses S.P. Nikanorov’s concept of a subject as a pair consisting of subjectivity and its bearer which is a person or community. Here are the main ideas of the author's concept: 1. Subjectivity can belong to its bearer and can be embodied in the objects of his activity. 2. Culture manifests itself not only in objects and values, but also in the human and his spiritual world. 3. Being the repository of culture’s subjectivity, a person is a real legal subject. 4. The traditional perception of culture as not being a legal entity does not mean that it really lacks possession of rights and subjectivity in general. 5. Treating culture as the virtual subject of communication and creativity is fruitful for the arts and for personality development. 6. The “Culture Rights’ Declaration” should be nationally and internationally adopted for the effective preservation of culture and its development.