Existence of archeological site within private land: a legal regulation in Thailand

Abstract

Archeological site is usually an important national heritage. It is the role of the local government to conserve the archeological site. The interesting consideration is the registration of the archeological site. Sometimes, the archeological site is identified at the private land. After the registration, the legal regulation of the archeological site is very interesting. In some cases, the local land owner might still be permitted to stay at his/her own land with existence of archeological site. The good examples can be seen in Thai cases of existences of archeological sites in private lands of private owners. The scenario of existence of archeological site within private land is focused and mentioned in the present article. The interesting question is how to effectively conserve the archeological site and parallel protect the rights of the land owner. Mutualism of benefit should be promoted by laws. The specific interesting case studies based on the real cases in Thailand, a tropical country in Indochina are hereby presented. It can show that the legal regulation can help conserve the archeological whereas the laws can still support the rights of the private land owner on his/her own land.