The settlement of international cultural heritage disputes

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Where to find it

Law Library — 3rd Floor Collection (3rd floor)

Call Number
K3791 .C44 2014
Status
Available

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Summary

The past forty years have seen a wide proliferation of an extensive range of disputes under international law concerning cultural heritage. These disputes can concern a disparate variety of issues. A substantial number of have concerned the restitution of stolen and illegally exported art objects. Another set of controversies has involved the protection of immovable cultural heritage. Unlike other fields of international law, international cultural heritage law does not have an ad hoc mechanism of dispute settlement. As a result, controversies are to be settled through negotiation or, if this fails, through existing dispute resolution means, which include arbitration and litigation before domestic courts or international tribunals. This ad hoc fashion of dealing with disputes is not without consequences. The most serious problem is that the same or similar cases may be settled in different ways, thereby bringing about an incoherent and fragmentary enforcement of the law.

This book offers a comprehensive and innovative analysis of the settlement of cultural heritage disputes. It addresses the means the potential fragmentation can be resolved by providing a two-fold analysis. First, it provides a detailed analysis of the existing legal framework and the available means of judicial and non-judicial dispute settlement. Second, it explores the feasibility of two solutions for overcoming the lack of a specialized forum. The first potential solution is the establishment of a new international court. The second concerns existing judicial and extra-judicial fora and means of increasing interaction between them by the practice of 'cross-fertilization'. The book focuses on the substance of such interaction, and identifies a number of culturally-sensitive parameters which need to apply (the 'common rules of adjudication'). Ultimately the book argues that existing judicial and non-judicial fora should adopt a cross-fertilizing perspective to use and disseminate jurisprudence containing these common rules of adjudication, to enhance the effectiveness and coherence of their decision-making processes. Finally, it sets out how such an approach would be conducive to the development of a wider body of international cultural heritage law.

Contents

  • Table of Cases p. xv
  • Table of Instruments p. xxiii
  • List of Abbreviations p. xxix
  • I Introduction p. 1
  • 1 The Imperfect Nature of Cultural Heritage Law p. 1
  • 2 Improving Dispute Settlement in the Cultural Heritage Realm p. 3
  • 3 The Scope of the Analysis p. 4
  • 4 Book Structure p. 6
  • II Foundational Issues p. 9
  • A Understanding Cultural Heritage p. 9
  • 1 Introduction p. 9
  • 2 In search of a definition of cultural property p. 11
  • 3 From cultural property to cultural heritage p. 14
  • 4 The common heritage of humankind p. 17
  • 5 From cultural heritage to cultural rights p. 20
  • B Defining the Sources and Typology of Cultural Heritage Disputes p. 33
  • 1 Introduction p. 33
  • 2 What is an 'international dispute'? p. 33
  • 3 The actors at stake in the cultural heritage realm p. 36
  • III Examining the Existing Legal Regime p. 65
  • A The Legal Framework p. 65
  • 1 Introduction p. 65
  • 2 Domestic legislation p. 65
  • 3 The private international law dimension of dispute settlement p. 84
  • 4 Dispute settlement through cultural heritage instruments p. 98
  • 5 The law of State immunity p. 121
  • 6 State responsibility and cultural heritage disputes p. 130
  • B The Available Means of Dispute Settlement p. 134
  • 1 Introduction p. 134
  • 2 The settlement of cultural heritage disputes exemplified: the Altmann case p. 135
  • 3 Adjudication through domestic courts p. 138
  • 4 International judicial settlement mechanisms: an overview p. 146
  • 5 Alternatives to judicial settlement p. 167
  • C A Step Backwards: Strategies for Dispute Avoidance p. 185
  • 1 Introduction p. 185
  • 2 Dispute avoidance through negotiation p. 186
  • 3 Monitoring mechanisms p. 197
  • 4 An appraisal p. 199
  • IV Dispute Settlement in the Cultural Heritage Realm: Opting for Radical Reforms or for Enhancing Existing Dispute Settlement Means? p. 200
  • Introduction: Cultural Heritage Dispute Settlement against the Background of Fragmentation and Proliferation p. 200
  • A The Establishment of an International Cultural Heritage Court p. 204
  • 1 Introduction p. 204
  • 2 Is an international cultural heritage court desirable and necessary? p. 205
  • 3 Is there a reasonable chance of creating a new international court? p. 208
  • 4 An appraisal p. 218
  • B The Settlement of Cultural Heritage Disputes through Cross-Fertilization p. 218
  • 1 Introduction p. 218
  • 2 Cross-fertilization among adjudicators: what it is and where it comes from p. 219
  • 3 Forms and methods of cross-fertilization p. 221
  • 4 The actual affirmation of cross-fertilization p. 223
  • 5 Cross-fertilization: a realistic assessment p. 231
  • 6 The role of judges: is cross-fertilization a proper judicial function? p. 238
  • V Cross-Fertilization and Common Rules of Adjudication in the Service of Cultural Heritage: Towards a New Taxonomy? p. 244
  • Opting for Cross-Fertilization and Common Rules of Adjudication: The Emergence of a New Lex Specialis p. 244
  • A The Common Rules of Adjudication Corresponding to General Principle of International Law p. 249
  • 1 Introduction p. 249
  • 2 The obligation to protect cultural objects in the event of armed conflict p. 250
  • 3 The prohibition on removing cultural objects in the event of armed conflict and the corresponding obligation of restitution p. 258
  • B The Common Rules of Adjudication Corresponding to Rules in Force or in Formation p. 274
  • 1 Introduction p. 274
  • 2 The obligation to return cultural objects wrongfully removed in peacetime p. 274
  • 3 The common rules of adjudication on the restitution and protection of cultural heritage in peacetime p. 284
  • C Operationalizing the Common Rules of Adjudication p. 292
  • 1 Two modest proposals p. 292
  • 2 The International Association of Refugee Law Judges: a paradigm for UNESCO? p. 294
  • 3 Multi-level cooperation in the resolution of cultural heritage disputes p. 296
  • VI Conclusions p. 305
  • Bibliography p. 313
  • Index p. 339

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