Eine rechtsethische Untersuchung des Kulturgüterschutzes in Deutschland

The study deals with the question of whether and to what extent the German law on the protection of cultural property can be ethically justified. Specifically, it examines whether it is ethically justifiable for the state to prohibit the export of cultural property that it deems to be of national value. Drawing on various ethical theories – including those of Thomas Aquinas, Kant, Hegel and Rawls, as well as utilitarian approaches – it is shown that the protection of cultural property in Germany can, in principle, be ethically justified. At the same time, the author justifies access to culture as a central ethical requirement, which forms the basis for a critical evaluation of the existing protection of cultural property.