CULTURAL HERITAGE Working Paper Final
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EUI Working Papers AEL 2009/9 ACADEMY OF EUROPEAN LAW Cultural heritage project THE ILLICIT TRAFFIC OF CULTURAL OBJECTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN edited by Ana Filipa Vrdoljak and Francesco Francioni EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE , FLORENCE ACADEMY OF EUROPEAN LAW ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE MEDITERRANEAN PROGRAMME The Illicit Traffic of Cultural Objects in the Mediterranean EDITED BY ANA FILIPA VRDOLJAK AND FRANCESCO FRANCIONI EUI W orking Paper AEL 2009/9 This text may be downloaded for personal research purposes only. Any additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copy or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If c ited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the working paper or other series, the year, and the publisher. The author(s)/editor(s) should inform the Academy of European Law if the paper is to be published elsewhere, and should also assume responsibility for any consequent obligation(s). ISSN 1831-4066 © 2009 Ana Filipa Vrdoljak and Francesco Francioni (editors) Printed in Italy European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy www.eui.eu cadmus.eui.eu Abstract Ongoing high profile litigation in Europe and the United States against museum officials and art dealers reveals that the illicit trade in cultural heritage is flourishing rather than abating. Ironically, the disparity between the failure of states to sign on to and implement certain multilateral agreements, and escalating cultural loss is particularly significant in the Mediterranean region, because of the cultural wealth located in the Mediterranean Sea and the countries which surround it. This working paper focuses on evolving multilateral efforts and national responses in the Mediterranean region to control the illicit trade in cultural heritage, particularly underwater heritage. It identifies areas of policy and law reform to encourage the uptake and implementation of existing multilateral instruments and the creation of regional initiatives to curb the illicit traffic of cultural objects. The collected contributions fall into four discernible categories. The first part contains a paper prepared by Francesco Francioni and myself and serves as a backgrounder outlining the current international and European legal protection afforded cultural objects excavated from the earth and seabed. Part II focuses specifically on the protection of underwater cultural heritage. Jeanne-Marie Panayotopoulos examines the legal regimes established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the specialist instrument, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Amy Strecker provides detailed analysis of the shortcoming of existing legal protections with reference to the ‘Black Swan’ case. Tullio Scovazzi rounds off this section by considering national perspectives, with particular reference to the Italian experience. Part III broadens the scope of potential legal protection to other specialist international law regimes. Valentina Vadi critically examines law applicable to the recovery of shipwrecks under the law of salvage and law of finds, UNCLOS and the Underwater Heritage Convention. Federico Lenzerini details the possibilities of the World Heritage Convention in the control of the illicit traffic of cultural objects. Sana Ouechtati extends these concerns to the area of international trade law through her exploration of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Part IV, the final part, emphasizes the ever-present difficulties in facilitating the return of illicit removed cultural objects through existing legal instruments. Andrzej Jakubowski provides a private international law perspective by focussing on the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention and EC Directive 93/7. Alessandro Chechi analyses the operation of bilateral agreements, encouraged under the 1970 UNESCO Convention, with particular reference to the existing agreements between the United States and Italy, and Italy and Libya for the return of the ‘Venus of Cyrene’. Robert Peters explores the potential of alternative, ‘creative’ modes of resolving restitution claims including the recent return of the Axum obelisk to Ethiopia. Keywords European law - fundamental/human rights - free movement - international agreements - regional policy - trade policy - Mediterranean, law v TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEGAL REGIMES FOR PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS Legal Protection of Cultural Objects in the Mediterranean Region: An Overview . Ana Filipa Vrdoljak and Francesco Francioni .......................................................................... 1 PART II: SPECIALIST LEGAL REGIMES FOR THE PROTECTION OF MOVABLE UNDERWATER HERITAGE The 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: Main Controversies. Jeanne-Marie Panayotopoulos ............................................................. 29 Pirates of the Mediterranean? The Case of the ‘Black Swan’ and its Implications for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Region. Amy Strecker ............................................................................................................................ 59 The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: An Italian Perspective . Tullio Scovazzi ......................................................................................................................... 75 PART III: OTHER INTERNATIONAL REGIMES FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE The Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in International Law: Challenges and Perspectives . Valentina S. Vadi ............................................................................................... 89 Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Objects and the Protection of the World Cultural Heritage . Federico Lenzerini ................................................................................................ 105 The New Perspectives Offered by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Region . Sana Ouechtati .................................................... 117 PART IV: RESTITUTION AND RETURN Return of Illicitly Trafficked Cultural Objects Pursuant to Private International Law: Current Developments. Andrzej Jakubowski ....................................................................... 137 Facilitating the Restitution of Cultural Objects through Cooperation: The Case of the 2001 US-Italy Agreement and its Relevance for Mediterranean Countries . Alessandro Chechi .................................................................................................................. 149 Beyond Restitution: An Interest-oriented Approach to International Cultural Heritage Law. Robert Peters ................................................................................................................ 163 vii Legal Protection of Cultural Objects in the Mediterranean Region: An Overview Ana Filipa Vrdoljak † and Francesco Francioni ‡ Abstract Recent civil and criminal litigation brought in U.S. and European courts against officials of leading museums and art dealers has revealed that illegal trafficking from the Mediterranean region is far more significant than previously thought. This ongoing litigation also highlights the dire need for reassessment, implementation and coordination of initiatives at the national and supranational levels to control this illegal trade. Most Mediterranean countries are state parties to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the First Protocol of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 Hague Protocol). Significantly, however, in the Mediterranean region this trend is not replicated in respect of the 1995 UNIDROIT and 2001 Underwater Heritage Conventions. This paper serves as a backgrounder by analysing the development of international law concerning the trade of cultural objects illicitly excavated from the earth or seabed. It is divided into two parts. The first section examines the main international instruments relating to the protection and control of the movement of cultural objects, either directly or indirectly, which are of relevance to the protection of the heritage of the Mediterranean region. The second section examines the potential of European Community (EC) policies and agreements between the European Union (EU) and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC) covering cultural cooperation and human rights to curb this illicit trade. By analysing the positives and negatives of existing international and regional schemes, the paper outlines lessons for the Mediterranean region. Keywords European law - fundamental/human rights - free movement of goods - international agreements - regional policy - trade policy - Mediterranean - cultural goods - international law † Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; and Marie Curie Fellow (2006- 2008), Department of Law, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. This paper was prepared as part of a research project entitled ‘Law and Cultural Heritage in Europe’, funded by the European Commission’s Marie Curie Action – The Sixth Framework Programme (No.MIF1-CT-2006-021861). ‡ Professor of International Law and Human Rights, Department of Law, European University Institute, Florence, Italy.