Scientific committees

ICOMOS is one of the oldest and most authoritative international organizations for the protection of cultural heritage with an extensive organizational structure, legal framework, traditions and doctrines. It is the largest professional scientific organization developing the theory, methodology and ethics of conservation, including numerous charters addressed to specialists from different fields of restoration activity. The main normative document and a kind of “code of ethics” developed by this organization is the “International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites”, better known in the world as the “Venice Charter” (1964), which is at the same time a significant document of public and social significance. As ICOMOS is a non-governmental organization, this means that it has relatively little political affiliation and therefore the capacity for independent scientific expertise on which the credibility of this professional institution rests. Moreover, it is the only international organization with such an extensive, extensive network of specialized scientific committees, which constitutes its uniqueness. With only 5 scientific committees in the mid-1970s, ICOMOS now has 27 committees (Stone, Wood, Historic Towns and Villages, Cultural Tourism, Cultural Landscape, Archaeological Heritage Management, Heritage Documentation, Conservation Economics, Mural Paintings, Rock Art, Training, Twentieth Century Heritage and many others). This provides a system of links between the world’s leading specialists from various fields of knowledge related to the conservation of cultural heritage. In fact, ICOMOS is a huge “address book”, a network of professionals, which accumulates enormous scientific and practical experience. This is one of its most important functions. Accordingly (based on the above parameters and characteristics), ICOMOS has been UNESCO’s leading expert scientific organization on World Cultural Heritage since the early 1970s. The UNESCO Documentation Center, which concentrates information on all World Heritage nominations, is located at ICOMOS headquarters in Paris. Because of its authority and involvement in World Heritage expertise, ICOMOS continues to this day to fulfill its stem function in the international conservation process.

ICOMOS National Committees delegate leading specialists from their countries to the specialized International Scientific Committees for active expert work at the international and national levels. It is expected that in countries where ICOMOS National Committees have been established, national specialized scientific committees are established in liaison with international partners. A full list and summary of their activities is given below and can be found in more detail on the websites of ICOMOS International and its specialized committees. Most of the ICOMOS Scientific Committees have their own information resources on the Internet. In their activities the committees are guided by the principles developed in a special document “Eger – Cian principles for the International [Scientific] Committees of ICOMOS” (Eger – Xi’an principles for the International [Scientific] Committees of ICOMOS, July 2008.

The list of International Scientific Committees with a brief summary is available here.


Aims and purposes of the establishment of scientific committees

Scientific Committees are established to encourage and promote a multidisciplinary approach to the protection and management of cultural heritage in order to fulfill the objectives of ICOMOS as set out in Article 4-b of the ICOMOS Statutes: to collect, study and disseminate information related to principles, methods and programs relevant to the protection of cultural heritage.

The specific aims and objectives for each Scientific Committee are set out in the Statement and Program of Activities and are generally as follows:

  • Sharing experience, knowledge and information on the results of work;
  • Enhancing professional competence and ensuring continuity among professionals at different career stages;
  • Identifying problem areas and setting research objectives in a particular professional field;
  • Coordination and scientific support of volunteer work, etc.

Main guiding documents

  • Eger-Sian Principles of ICOMOS International (Scientific) Committees
  • ICOMOS Statutes
  • ICOMOS Ethical Principles
  • Statutes of the ICOMOS NC, Russia
  • Statutes of the Scientific Committees of the NC ICOMOS, Russia

The membership and structure of the scientific committee


Scientific committee documents:

Constituent and current

Constituent documents (provided by the initiative group to the NC ICOMOS Council, Russia)

  • Statement (goals, objectives, relevance of the establishment, including the potential for cooperation with other committees)
  • Program
  • Membership roster
  • List of prospective institutional partners
  • List of proposed officers – members of the Bureau (with CVs)
  • Information on the location of the secretariat and a letter of commitment from the host organization to provide premises
  • Anticipated budget and financial and administrative support arrangements

Current documents

  • Minutes of meetings
  • Annual report
  • Approved criteria for participation and reasons for excluding inactive members
  • Work plan for the year
  • Partnership Agreements (approved by the NC ICOMOS Council)
  • Forms (approved by the NC ICOMOS Council)
  • Proposals for the formation of a three-year Science Plan