The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

1996 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 819-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Blake
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Maritime Organisation ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Draft Resolution ◽  
Draft Convention ◽  
The Subject

In November 1995 a draft resolution was presented to the 28th General Conference of UNESCO which, among other matters, dealt with the organisation's future activities in the field of the underwater cultural heritage.1 In conjunction with this resolution, the text of a draft Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage prepared by the International Law Association (ILA) was presented to the General Conference as the possible basis for a new international convention on the subject.2 Annexed to this draft Convention text was the Charter for the Protection and Management of the Underwater Cultural Heritage prepared by the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)3 to accompany the ILA draft Convention and serve as a set of criteria of good practice to be applied by States parties to the Convention. The General Conference adopted the draft resolution without any change and this therefore forms the basis for future deliberations within UNESCO over this issue, the question whether to draft an international convention on the basis of the ILA draft text having been a central part of the deliberations. Subsequent to the adoption of the resolution, meetings have been held between UNESCO and various bodies with an interest in the issue (such as the International Maritime Organisation and the International Oceanographic Commission as well as the UN Law of the Sea office). Following these consultations, it was agreed to hold a joint meeting of representatives of these organisations with chosen experts in order to examine the ILA draft Convention along with any other material relevant to a new legal instrument for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage.

Draft UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural I Heritage 1998

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-206
Author(s):  
Nicholas Gaskell ◽  
Sarah Dromgoole
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
Draft Convention ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
Ownership Rights ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article considers certain issues relating to the draft UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 1998. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of the draft, which is still only a working document, but the aim is (1) to give a very general introduction to the draft Convention; (2) to consider the relationship between the draft Convention and the UN Law of the Sea Convention 1982; (3) to assess the impact that the draft Convention would have on ownership rights in wrecks; (4) to examine whether the draft Convention should exclude warships and other State vessels from its scope; and (5) to analyse the relationship between the draft Convention and the law of salvage.

scholarly journals The ms Estonia Shipwreck Revisited: New Developments in the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Northern Baltic Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-372
Author(s):  
Alexander Lott
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
International Law ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
Mass Grave ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
New Developments ◽  
The Right

Abstract It is widely believed that international law does not enable to protect effectively the wreck of the ms Estonia against looting. The protection regime established under the 1995 ms Estonia Treaty is binding and violations against it can be effectively sanctioned in respect of only the nationals of its few States Parties, resulting in numerous jurisdictional gaps. This study argues that the law of the sea and administrative law provide the means for safeguarding the ms Estonia wreck against pilferers. Estonia has repeatedly designated tiny buffer zones around relatively modern shipwrecks outside its territorial sea. Finland can follow this practice in relation to the ms Estonia wreck that lies less than 19 nm from its baselines. In effect, Finland would be entitled to regulate and authorize activities directed at the shipwreck with the right to exercise its enforcement jurisdiction against persons that disturb the peace of the mass grave.

The Cultural Heritage Law Committee of the International Law Association: General Session, August 16, 2010

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-661
Author(s):  
James A. R. Nafziger
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
General Session ◽  
The Status ◽  
Draft Convention ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
The Hague

Twenty-two members of the International Law Association's Committee on Cultural Heritage Law attended a working session in The Hague. The committee first reviewed the status of its past projects, focusing this time on the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which resulted from the Committee's Buenos Aires Draft Convention on that subject. Now that the treaty is in force, the committee considered the actual and potential status of accession by maritime powers.

Underwater Cultural Heritage in Africa and Questions of Immunity, State Ownership and Succession: What Role for Equity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-294
Author(s):  
Michail Risvas
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
Balanced Distribution ◽  
The Law

Abstract Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) is an emerging topic of the law of the sea and international law. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to UCH situated off the coasts of Africa, despite its archaeological, historical and cultural value. At the same time, there is a growing trend of restitution of cultural heritage removed from African States by their former (Western) colonial powers. Against this background the article argues that the principle of equity regarding State ownership, succession in relation to, and immunity of, African UCH constitutes the mechanism which can lead to a more balanced distribution of UCH between Western and African States.

Maritime Claims and Underwater Archaeology: When History Meets Politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-131
Author(s):  
Mariano J. Aznar
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
South China ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Underwater Archaeology ◽  
Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Territorial Claims ◽  
Legal And Ethical Issues

Abstract Among other circumstances relevant to maritime delimitations, some States have recently used the protection of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) as grounds for advancing jurisdictional or sovereignty claims over different maritime areas. After identifying the contours of current international law governing that heritage, this book critically addresses: first, the generally limited use of archaeological heritage in territorial claims; second, the broad acceptance by States of ‘archaeological maritime zones’ that overlap with declared contiguous zones; and, third, the (mis)use of UCH and underwater archaeology in three still disputed maritime claims, namely, Canada’s claim in Arctic waters, China’s in the South China Sea, and Russia’s in Crimea and its surrounding waters. Legal and ethical issues related to underwater archaeology are also discussed.

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