Thake on The Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage as a Genocidal Act and a Crime Against Humanity

Ann Marie Thake, Government of Malta, Courts of Justice (Superior Jurisdiction), has published The Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage as a Genocidal Act and a Crime Against Humanity, Conference Paper No. 15/2017 given at the European Society of International Law (ESIL), 2017 Annual Conference (Naples). Here is the abstract.

Lemkin originally envisaged the crime of genocide as encompassing not only physical and biological acts of genocide, but also the intentional destruction of cultural heritage. In fact, earlier drafts of the Genocide Convention proposed the criminalisation not only of physical and biological genocide, but also of cultural genocide, with the latter understood as involving the destruction of specific characteristics of the protected group. This was eventually left out of the final draft of the Convention, save for the prohibition of the forcible transfer of the protected group’s children. However, the destruction of a protected group can be brought about not only by physical or biological means, but also by systematically erasing its culture heritage and therefore its group identity, destroying the group from its very core, an act which is described by Chaumont as constituting ‘ethnocide’. In fact, the ad hoc criminal tribunals have considered the systematic and intentional destruction of cultural heritage as evidence of the specific intent to destroy a group. The aim of this paper is to analyse the intentional destruction of cultural heritage from a human perspective, considering it as a crime against persons, not solely against property, and to examine whether it is time to revise the definition of genocide to incorporate the intentional destruction of cultural heritage as a genocidal act, as it was originally conceived by Lemkin.

Download the paper at

ICYMI: Heritage, Culture, and Rights (Andrew Durbach and Lucas Lixinski, eds., Hart Publishing, 2017) @hartpublishing

ICYMI: Heritage, Culture, and Rights (Andrea Durbach and Lucas Lixinski, eds., Hart Publishing, 2017).

Cultural heritage law and its response to human rights principles and practice has gained renewed prominence on the international agenda. The recent conflicts in Syria and Mali, China's use of shipwreck sites and underwater cultural heritage to make territorial claims, and the cultural identities of nations post-conflict highlight this field as an emerging global focus. In addition, it has become a forum for the configuration and contestation of cultural heritage, rights and the broader politics of international law. The manifestation of tensions between heritage and human rights are explored in this volume, in particular in relation to heritage and rights in collaboration and in conflict, and heritage as a tool for rights advocacy. This volume also explores these issues from a distinctively legal standpoint, considering the extent to which the legal tools of international human rights law facilitate or hinder heritage protection. Covering a range of issues across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Australia, this volume will be of interest to people working in human rights, heritage studies, cultural heritage management and identity politics around the world.

 

Maori Heritage and IP Law

Susan Corbett, Victoria University of Wellington, has published Māori Cultural Heritage and Copyright Law: A Balancing Exercise at 6 New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal 916 (2012). Here is the abstract.

The digitisation of both traditional Māori cultural heritage and also more recent items of Māori provenance held in the collections of New Zealand museums, was the subject of a recent research project funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation. This article considers the practices of museums in regard to the digitisation of collection items of Māori provenance and analyses them in the context of the relevant legal and policy environment in New Zealand; in essence an environment that is comprised of, respectively, the Copyright Act 1994, the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the theory of cultural property law.

Download the article from SSRN at the link. 

LCCHP Announces Student Writing Competition For 2011

The Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) announces its 2011Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Law. The deadline is June 10th.

LCCHP is pleased to announce its fifth annual Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Law. The deadline for this year's submissions is 10 June 2011. The first place winner will receive a prize of $1000, while the second place winner will receive $500. The winning papers may also be offered publication.


Competition Details

The submitted paper must be the sole work product of a student author who is currently enrolled in or who has recently graduated from an accredited law school.

The paper must be sponsored by a faculty member at the student's law school.


It must also follow law review style and formatting.


Suitable papers may address any aspect of cultural heritage law, including art, cultural property, historic preservation, indigenous peoples, and intangible heritage (but not intellectual property, except as it relates to cultural heritage).

Only papers written after June 2010 — and not previously published — are admissible.

Only one paper may be submitted per student.

Papers must be electronically submitted directly by the student or by a faculty sponsor on the student's behalf.

The judges will focus on the student's ability to critically analyze a current issue and present a solution OR to conduct legal historical research using original sources.



Two prizes will be awarded: a first place prize of $1000 and a second place prize of $500.

The winning papers may also be offered publication in the Journal of Cultural Heritage Law.



The deadline for the 2011 Competition is 10 June 2011.



To learn more, and see past winners, visit the official website.

LCCHP Announces Winners of Annual Student Writing Competition

From the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP)

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2009 annual student writing competition, sponsored by Andrews Kurth LLP. The first-place winner is Amelia Sargent of Stanford University Law School for a paper entitled “New Jurisdictional Tools for Displaced Cultural Property in Russia: From ‘Twice Saved’ to ‘Twice Taken’”. The second-place winner is Melanie Greer of DePaul University College of Law for her paper entitled “Deaccessioning: A Necessary Evil?”. An honorable mention went to “The Limits of the Law: The Impact of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Trade in Illicit Cambodian Antiquities”, by Terressa Davis of the University of Georgia.
Both winning papers will be published in the 2010 Yearbook of Cultural Property Law. The finalist paper, “Complying with NAGPRA’s Pesticide Provision: A Best Practice Guide” by Lydia Grunstra of American University Washington College of Law will also be published in the next issue of the Yearbook.
Due to the generosity of Andrews Kurth’s DC office, the first-place winner will receive an award of $1000 and the second-place winner will receive an award of $500. This is the fifth annual LCCHP competition, and it attracted twenty-six entries from nineteen law schools, the largest numbers of entries and law schools represented in any prior competition. We also want to thank this year’s writing competition selection committee, chaired by Sherry Hutt, and including Ricardo St. Hilaire, Lucille Roussin and Gillian Bearns.
For the third year, LCCHP is pleased to partner with Andrews Kurth in offering this competition as a means of expanding the teaching of cultural heritage preservation law in U.S. law schools. LCCHP is a nonprofit organization of lawyers, law students and interested members of the public who have joined together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage resources in the United States and internationally through education and advocacy.
About LCCHP
The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation is an organization of lawyers, professors, and like-minded friends who have joined together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage resources in the United States and internationally through education, outreach and advocacy. Cultural heritage law is a growing legal field, as our society comes to appreciate the important symbolic, historical, and emotional role that cultural heritage plays in our lives. Cultural heritage law encompasses several disparate areas, including the protection of archaeological sites, preservation of historic structures and the built environment, preservation of and respect for both tangible and intangible indigenous cultures, international market in art works and antiquities, and recovery of stolen art works. Please visit the LCCHP web site at www.culturalheritagelaw.org for more information and watch the site and your email for the upcoming announcement of the 2010 student writing competition.
About Andrews Kurth LLP
For more than a century, Andrews Kurth LLP has built its practice on the belief that "straight talk is good business." Real answers, clear vision and mutual respect define the firm's relationships with clients, colleagues, communities and employees. The firm has represented government and quasi-governmental institutions, museums, churches, foundations, families and private individuals from around the globe on the legal aspects of art and antiquities recovery in U.S. courts. With more than 400 lawyers and offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, The Woodlands and Washington, DC, Andrews Kurth represents a wide array of clients in all areas of business law.?More information about the firm’s art and cultural property practice may be found online at:
www.andrewskurth.com/industries-artantiquities.html

Law and Cultural Heritage

From the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP):
Three Important Announcements

LCCHP 2009 Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Preservation Law
Database of Internship/Externship/Job Opportunities in Cultural Heritage Law
Students & New Professionals Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation being formed

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Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Preservation Law

The Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation announces the 2009 LCCHP Annual Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Preservation Law. Due to the generosity of our competition sponsor - the law firm Andrews Kurth LLP - the awards for the 2009 competition are $1000 for first place and $500 for second place. The deadline for submissions is June 12, 2009, but papers may be submitted at any time before that date. We encourage those of you teaching seminars or with other student papers this semester to ask your students to submit papers now. Only current law students are eligible to enter the competition. Instructions for submission of papers and of faculty supporting nominations may be found at:

www.culturalheritagelaw.org/education/competition2009

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Database of Internship / Externship / Job Opportunities in Cultural Heritage Law

LCCHP is pleased to announce that its database of internship and externship opportunities in cultural heritage law is now available on our website at:

www.culturalheritagelaw.org/members-only

We know that this listing will be in great demand by law students and other students studying cultural heritage. If you know of any opportunities in this field that you think should be listed, we invite you to send us a short description with a web link. Please forward this request to government agencies and nonprofit organizations that may be interested in posting an announcement, and feel free to post this message to other relevant listserves and blogs. The listing is available only to LCCHP members, but we offer an attractive student rate.


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Students & New Professionals Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation is being formed

LCCHP is creating a special Student and New Professional Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation. This Committee will give students and recent graduates an opportunity to network and share information, while they also participate in several LCCHP activities, such as overseeing our soon-to-be launched blog in cultural heritage law and planning cultural heritage related events on their school campuses. You may want to bring this group to the attention of your students. For more information, contact Board Member Donald Craib at:

http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/members-only


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About LCCHP

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation is an organization of lawyers, professors, law students, and like-minded friends who have joined together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage resources in the United States and internationally through education and advocacy. Cultural heritage law is a growing legal field, as our society comes to appreciate the important symbolic, historical, and emotional role that cultural heritage plays in our lives. Cultural heritage law encompasses several disparate areas, including the protection of archaeological sites, preservation of historic structures and the built environment, preservation of and respect for both tangible and intangible indigenous cultures, international market in art works and antiquities, and recovery of stolen art works.


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Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP)
428 Hume Ave, 2nd floor, Alexandria, VA 22301
tel: 703-549-1110 | fax: 703-995-4890
web: www.culturalheritagelaw.org | email: info@culturalheritagelaw.org