Historical Component Parts and Movable Appurtenances of Monuments. The Object of the Entry in the Register of Monuments – Notes De Lege Lata and De Lege Ferenda

This article seeks to analyse the provisions of the Polish Act on the protection and care of monuments related to movable monuments in the context of the object of entry in the register of monuments under the currently applicable law, taking into consideration the provisions of the Polish Civil Code related to movable things. The Author presents a discussion of the status of a movable object under civil law as a self-contained thing, a component part or appurtenance of another thing in order to show the difference between a movable monument and a component part of an immovable monument. Currently, this distinction is particularly problematic in practice regarding the registration of sacred art monuments, constituting the equipment or decorations of churches. The practice of entering wall decorations and other flat surfaces of buildings in the register of movable monuments is not consistent with the law. Instead, these should be captured as permanent equipment of immovable monuments (which applies mainly to churches) in one entry – as component parts or appurtenances attached to the immovable monument. The remarks formulated by the Author may serve as the basis for further legislative work with respect to proposed content of legal provisions of the act on the protection and care of monuments. The final part concerns the way of protecting folklore (intangible cultural heritage) by entering movable assets in the register of monuments along with an immovable monument as movable things conceived as appurtenances of a particular place.