Ensuring the preservation of submerged treasures for the next generation: the protection of underwater cultural heritage in international law (original) (raw)
Related papers
Investing in culture : underwater cultural heritage and international investment law
2009
Underwater cultural heritage (UCH), which includes evidence of past cultures preserved in shipwrecks, enables the relevant epistemic communities to open a window to the unknown past and enrich their understanding of history. Recent technologies have allowed the recovery of more and more shipwrecks by private actors who often retrieve materials from shipwrecks to sell them. Not all salvors conduct proper scientific inquiry, conserve artifacts, and publish the results of the research; more often, much of the salvaged material is sold and its cultural capital dispersed. Because states rarely have adequate funds to recover ancient shipwrecks and manage this material, however, commercial actors seem to be necessary components of every regulatory framework governing UCH.In this context, this Article aims to reconcile private interests with the public interest in cultural heritage protection. Such reconciliation requires that international law be reinterpreted and reshaped in order to bett...
2008
The contract was on a no fi nds-no pay basis, which is a well established practice in marine salvage and means that all the costs of the salvage and its risks would be borne exclusively by the salvage company. The law of salvage and the law of fi nds traditionally belong to admiralty law and are private law rules codifi ed in limited fashion in public documents (the 1910 Brussels Convention for the Unifi cation of Certain Rules with Respect to Assistance and Salvage at Sea and the 1989 International Convention on Salvage) that originated in common law jurisprudence.
The Titanic as Underwater Cultural Heritage: Challenges to its Legal International Protection
the rather unique development under the law of salvage through orders of the U.S. court sitting in admiralty that prohibit the exclusive salvors in possession of the Titanic, RMS Titanic, Inc. and Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (RMST/PE) from selling individual artifacts and instead require that RMST/PE keep the collection of artifacts salvaged from the Titanic together as an intact collection for the public benefit. Finally, the article discusses the need for general legislation to protect the Titanic and other underwater cultural heritage from looting and unwanted salvage.
The protection of the underwater cultural heritage - Legal Aspects
2002
This collection of essays arose from the legal sessions of a conference held in Palermo and Siracusa in March 2001. There are 20 papers in total, each written in one of the three official languages of the conference. Eleven of the papers are in English, eight in Italian and one in French. Many of the authors are Italian scholars, writing in both English and Italian. Others are well-known scholars in the field from various parts of the world. The context for the conference, and the book, was the UNESCO initiative to produce an international convention for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Indeed, the conference coincided with the start of the final round of negotiations that eventually led to agreement of a final text. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted in November 2001 and the foreword to the book states that the papers have been updated to take this into account. The essays are split into five sections. Section I, entitled``Cultural Heritage and International Law'', is introductory in nature and does not relate specifically to the underwater cultural heritage. The first, very short, essay by Francesco Francioni (in English) identifies some general principles of international law applicable to the protection of the cultural heritage. The second paper, by Manlio Frigo (in Italian), considers issues relating to the movement and restitution of cultural goods from an international perspective. The second section of the book is entitled``Underwater Cultural Heritage: Selected Cases''. It comprises five essays, mainly concerned with bilateral agreements relating to specific wrecks. The first contribution, by Constance Johnson (in English), outlines the Agreement between Australia and the Netherlands Concerning Old Dutch Shipwrecks 1972. One of the most interesting aspects of this Agreement is the detailed provision it makes for the disposition of recovered artefacts. However, while Johnson describes the provision that is made, she does not go on to consider in any detail the provision in today's context, especially in light of the principles enshrined in, and underlying, the UNESCO Convention. (Her final two sentences are tantalising
The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 2003
This collection of essays arose from the legal sessions of a conference held in Palermo and Siracusa in March 2001. There are 20 papers in total, each written in one of the three official languages of the conference. Eleven of the papers are in English, eight in Italian and one in French. Many of the authors are Italian scholars, writing in both English and Italian. Others are well-known scholars in the field from various parts of the world. The context for the conference, and the book, was the UNESCO initiative to produce an international convention for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Indeed, the conference coincided with the start of the final round of negotiations that eventually led to agreement of a final text. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted in November 2001 and the foreword to the book states that the papers have been updated to take this into account. The essays are split into five sections. Section I, entitled``Cultural Heritage and International Law'', is introductory in nature and does not relate specifically to the underwater cultural heritage. The first, very short, essay by Francesco Francioni (in English) identifies some general principles of international law applicable to the protection of the cultural heritage. The second paper, by Manlio Frigo (in Italian), considers issues relating to the movement and restitution of cultural goods from an international perspective. The second section of the book is entitled``Underwater Cultural Heritage: Selected Cases''. It comprises five essays, mainly concerned with bilateral agreements relating to specific wrecks. The first contribution, by Constance Johnson (in English), outlines the Agreement between Australia and the Netherlands Concerning Old Dutch Shipwrecks 1972. One of the most interesting aspects of this Agreement is the detailed provision it makes for the disposition of recovered artefacts. However, while Johnson describes the provision that is made, she does not go on to consider in any detail the provision in today's context, especially in light of the principles enshrined in, and underlying, the UNESCO Convention. (Her final two sentences are tantalising
Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 2010
Britain has been a major seafaring nation for hundreds of years. As a result we have a legacy of sunken naval and merchant vessels lying on seabeds throughout the world representing an enormous resource of historical and cultural interest to this and future generations. In many cases preservation of historic artefacts can be better underwater than on land, particularly for organic materials. For instance, nowhere on land have the remains of the iconic English longbow been found, but on the Mary Rose they found not one, but boxes of them, beautifully preserved. Our underwater cultural heritage in international waters beyond twelve nautical miles is hugely important but it is now at serious risk.