Craig J. S. Forrest

International law and the protection of cultural heritage

The worlds cultural heritage is under threat from war, illicit trafficking, social and economic upheaval, unregulated excavation and neglect. Over a period of almost fifty years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has adopted five international conventions that attempt to protect this cultural heritage. This book comprehensively and critically considers these five UNESCO cultural heritage conventions. The book looks at the conventions in the context of recent events that have exposed the dangers faced by cultural heritage, including the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Iraq and the looting of the Baghdad museum, the destruction the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, the salvage of artefacts from the RMS Titanic and the illicit excavation and trade in Chinese, Peruvian and Italian archaeological objects.

Historic wreck in international waters: conflict or consensus?

The attempt to frame a Convention to protect underwater cultural heritage was initiated principally as a response to perceived threats from irresponsible salvage operations utilising new deep sea technology for commercial gain. This article evaluates the current UNESCO approach, suggests that narrow group interests have enjoyed disproportionate attention in the debate and proposes that a greater degree of consensus is a prerequisite for the success of the draft Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

An international perspective on sunken state vessels as underwater cultural heritage

On 2 November 2001, the General Assembly of the United Nations Scientific, Economic and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) adopted the convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Among the many complex issues addressed in the convention is the legal status of sunken state-owned vessels, including warships. Prior to the adoption of this convention, no conventional or customary international law existed with regards to the question of abandonment of state-owned vessels or the application of the principle of sovereign immunity to sunken state vessels. While difficulties between coastal states and maritime and former colonial powers resulted in a regime that does not comprehensively address the issues, the convention does provide some guidance in this regard and may provide a basis for further development.

Integrated coastal zone management: A critical overview

Integrated coastal zone management is a term banded about as a panacea to environmental degradation of the foreshore. This article provides a basic introduction to ICZM and considers the fundamental principles upon which this management regime is based. In particular, the difficulties in defining sustainable development, as the grundnorm for ICZM, are discussed.

Immunity from Seizure and Suit in Australia: The Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013

Australia has, like many other states over the past few years, introduced a statute that provides immunity from seizure for cultural objects on loan from abroad and immunity from suit for certain parties. This article explores the historical context that lead to the adoption of this statute and comprehensively explores the legislative regime, highlighting its peculiarities.

Marine oil and gas pollution spills in Australian waters

Marine oil and gas pollution spills in Australian waters have not been frequent in world terms and all of them have been fairly minor in quantity and effect. The first incident is addressed by Sarah Derrington concerning, in December, the APL Sydney dragging its anchor in Port Phillip Bay, near Melbourne, and breaking the gas pipeline on the bottom of the bay. The second incident, analyzed by Nick Gaskell, concerns the Pacific Adventurer, which lost containers overboard that punctured the hull resulting in the spill of oil some miles offshore from Moreton Island, near Brisbane, in March . The final incident, discussed by Vincent Cogliati-Bantz and Craig Forrest, occurred in April when the Shen Neng went aground off Gladstone port, in the Great Barrier Reef on the Australian east coast. In each case the authors set out the background and circumstances in relation to each of these oil spills. Keywords:Australian waters; gas pollution; Marine oil; oil spill; Phillip Bay

The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements: The Maritime Exceptions

The key aspects and features of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the exceptions that exist in the Convention with regards to maritime are discussed. The problems that inclusion of maritime issues may pose in terms of the Hague Convention and others are highlighted.

Lyndel Prott, ed., Finishing the Interrupted Voyage: Papers of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Workshop on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Lyndel Prott, ed., Finishing the Interrupted Voyage: Papers of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Workshop on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage pp. 168; UNESCO Publishing and Institute of Art and Law, Leicester: 2006. ISBN: 1-90398711-3. Almost 5 years after its adoption, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage has a mere six state parties. It requires 20 parties for the convention to come into force. Although there may be numerous reasons why states have failed to ratify the convention, perhaps the most common is simply because many developing states, even those rich in underwater cultural heritage, have little experience or expertise with protecting underwater cultural heritage, both practical and legal; and they are hesitant to ratify the convention without ensuring that they can implement the then-binding international obligations. This is particularly the case in the Asia-Pacific region, rich in underwater cultural heritage but as yet not represented in those states party to the convention. The need to encourage ratification of the convention in the Asia-Pacific is best described in the paper by Jeremy Green:

The illicit trade in Iraqi heritage: Considerations for the Australian art and antiquities market

The interpretation and implementation of the Convention designed by UNESCO to deal with the issue of the illicit trade in cultural heritage (the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, hereafter referred to as ‘the Convention’), is coloured by two competing perspectives. These are, whether international law should recognise the source state as having the absolute right to control cultural heritage found in its territory, or whether cultural heritage that could be considered important to all humankind should limit this right, and vest at least some rights in other states to acquire such cultural heritage. When considered in light of cultural heritage from the ‘cradle of civilisation’ that lies between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, these competing perspectives become quite distinct. A critical evaluation of the illicit trade in Iraqi cultural heritage exemplifi es the shortcomings in ‘source’ states’ abilities to protect their own cultural heritage, and evinces a desperate need for ‘market’ states to restrain their rampant demand for this heritage and take a more active role in the protection regime for our shared heritage. 2

The illicit movement of underwater cultural heritage: The case of the Dodington coins

In October 1997 the Times of London announced the sale by auction of fourteen hundred gold coins that formed part of the hoard lost by Clive of India when the East Indiaman Dodington was wrecked in Algoa Bay on July 17, 1755. The wreck and its contents lie within South African territorial waters and are protected by South African heritage legislation. Very little gold has ever been reported recovered, despite ongoing excavations, and only a single permit has been issued for the export and sale of twenty–one gold coins. This article will consider the legal steps taken to repatriate the coins, and the difficulties encountered when taking such steps before a foreign court. It evaluates the extent to which existing international conventions, including the recently adopted UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, are able to assist states in repatriating stolen or illegally exported underwater cultural heritage.