After the restoration of independence of Lithuania the legal basis and administrative structures of heritage preservation were changed many times, though the maintenance, use and state of heritage were not improved, and its decay did not decrease. Undemocratic and inhumane legal basis and management of heritage preservation based on restrictions, prohibitions and penalties without any compensatory incentives for imposed restrictions and economic disadvantages increasingly raises discontent not only from society but also from heritage owners and users. The owners and users of land where heritage objects are situated realize that their property can be used more efficiently and profitably and that social and economic restrictions imposed by heritage protection regulations contravene their rights. Instead of investing into preservation of heritage objects, owners usually attempt to get rid of them. Conflicts between heritage preservation institutions, owners of heritage objects and society are especially inherent in historic city centers where commercial interests are expanding and master plans and development projects propose intensive modernization and development of high rise buildings. Countries with long-lasting democracy traditions are looking for solutions how, without contradicting heritage preservation ethics and social justice, to encourage owners and users of heritage objects to protect and use rationally the legacy inherited from the past simultaneously retaining and stimulating vitality of historic centers and improving quality of life of their inhabitants. The problem is multipartite and ambivalent. Only changes and improvements in heritage preservation systems enacted in latter years in the countries of stable democracy, emphasizing the problem of development and protection ethics, the questions of respect of heritage values and implementation of social justice in juridical and practical heritage preservation activities are discussed in the paper.