Legal Framework for Intangible Cultural Heritage

The legal framework for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage comprises the regulations that, in Portugal, define what constitutes intangible heritage, how it is recognised, and what protective measures apply. Its cornerstone is Decree-Law No. 139/2009 of 15 June, approved under the Basic Law on Cultural Heritage (Law No. 107/2001), which for the first time treated intangible heritage on equal footing with built and movable heritage.

International Context

The Portuguese legislation represents the national response to an international movement led by UNESCO. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted at the organisation’s 32nd General Conference in Paris on 17 October 2003, entering into force on 20 April 2006. Portugal ratified it by depositing the respective instrument on 21 May 2008. The Convention defined intangible heritage as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge about nature, and traditional craftsmanship, requiring each State Party to create inventories of heritage present in its territory. This interplay between domestic and international law is characteristic of international heritage conventions.

Structure of Decree-Law No. 139/2009

To fulfil these obligations, the 2009 framework established three key mechanisms. First, a set of safeguarding measures – identification, documentation, research, transmission and promotion of manifestations. Second, an inventorying procedure centred on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a registration instrument where inclusion constitutes an essential prerequisite for any UNESCO listing application. Third, the creation of a specialised advisory committee to monitor the framework’s implementation.

Operational details of the inventory were delegated to Ordinance No. 196/2010 of 9 April, which established the inventory record template and regulated application procedures. Processes are managed through the MatrizPCI platform, a public database allowing consultation of inventoried manifestations and monitoring of direct consultation phases with heritage-bearing communities and public consultation. Management was initially assigned to the then-Institute of Museums and Conservation, transferring in 2012’s reorganisation to the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage.

Revisions and Current Scope

The framework underwent its first amendment through Decree-Law No. 149/2015 of 4 August, adjusting provisions to institutional changes and simplifying procedural aspects. The original architecture remains fundamentally intact: a national inventory as the gateway to protection, with central roles for communities, groups and individuals practising and transmitting each manifestation, consistent with the participatory spirit of the 2003 Convention.

In practice, this legal framework has supported the recognition of practices like cowbell-making, Alentejo singing or traditional saddlery, while structuring the relationship between national inventorying and applications for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It thus differs from the regime for classified monuments and sites – based on classification and administrative constraints – by prioritising living documentation and knowledge transmission over physical asset protection.