The legal department of EAIS is concerned with verifying the status of official sites obtained from Amlaak, the SCA's Survey and Property Department. An important process is the comparison between the legal documents and the maps produced by the Amlaak departments, which can sometimes provide different or contradicting information. This comparative data is compared the records in ESA Sigel ‘Ayni (state land register including archaeological land); this comparison has shown that there are differences between the two registers, which means that there is no accurate control over SCA land.
Sites have different legal statuses, providing them various degrees of protection and maintenance. Sites that are labeled as the Property of the SCA gives the SCA full control of land use and development within the area borders. Another group of sites are Under SCA Supervision. In this case, the land is private property but the SCA oversees its use and has the authority to ensure that no changes of land use that can potentially damage the archaeological remains are made.
Research by the archaeology department typically reveals a large number of sites in a governorate not on the official Amlaak lists; these are stored in the system as unregistered. These sites are not under SCA supervision and have little or no site management or protection and include a large number of smaller unexcavated ancient Egyptian talls, as well as several sites under excavation either by the SCA or foreign missions (for example, the sites in Farafra oasis). Unregistered sites also include all sites that are Under Registration Request, meaning that their archaeological and historical significance has been realized but that they have not yet come under the protection of the SCA. Quarries and prehistoric sites are other groups of archaeological remains that are more often than not unregistered and unprotected. This is also the case for large parts of Egypt's modern heritage, such as the 19th and 20th century architecture at Port Saïd, or the Turkish Quarter at Alexandria.
(click here for the case studies section)
The situation concerning the Islamic monuments is quite different. Most of the registered sites are actually individual monuments, often in heavily developed urban areas. Sites can be turned over to the SCA following compensation to the original owner, and can also be ceded following a presidential decree. The legal status of the Islamic monuments can be divided into three sections;
- Property of the SCA
- Waqf (property of the Ministry of Waqf), and under SCA supervision.
- SCA property and follow to Awqaf, because Awqaf rents the monument, but SCA supervises and restores it.
Collaborations with foreign institutes include the IDLO (International Development Law Organization) and a number of national and international universities (click here for the collaborators section). A study has been undertaken by EAIS to compare several European and African heritage laws with the aim of developing steps to ameliorate the Egyptian heritage laws, and EAIS staff has undergone Heritage Inventory Training in France. EAIS legal department works to update and expand the official registers and is a vital tool in developing and improving the legal framework of site management and protection.
