Digital Commons Network^™

The Criminalisation Of The Illicit Trade In Cultural Property, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

This chapter considers the criminalisation of illicit traffic of cultural objects in international law and its impact for domestic law. The regulation of the trade in cultural objects has long been resisted in so-called market States, which host major auction houses and art and antiquities dealers. The lobbying was particularly directed against the enforcement of foreign public laws covering export controls in domestic courts. However, the Security Council’s adoption of resolutions that condemned the pillage of Iraqi and Syrian cultural sites has transformed this debate. These resolutions enunciate an obligation to prosecute in domestic courts which is covers all UN …

Challenges For International Cultural Heritage Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The period from the shelling of Dubrovnik, Sarajevo and Mostar in the 1990s to the bombardment of Homs and Aleppo in the 2010s, witnessed the significant expansion of interventionist activities by the international community and then their gradual contraction in this new century. The factors that fostered the cosmopolitan drive during this brief period had a positive impact on the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict and peacetime. It also puts into stark relief the perpetual challenges facing the legal protection of cultural heritage at the international level, which forms the core of this chapter. In this first part, …

Liberty, Equality, Diversity: States, Cultures And International Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

This chapter explores how culture is addressed by contemporary international law, with particular reference to human rights law norms. The first part covering freedom focuses on the rise of the modern state and its conscious reimagining of ties with its citizens through the promotion of tolerance and a secular, national identity. The shift is explored through the prisms of the freedom of religion, the right to participate in (national) cultural life, and the limitations on freedom of expression including prohibition of hate speech and domestic blasphemy laws. The second part on equality centres on the relationship between the state, the …

Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Lack of clarity about the application of international law norms and inadequacies of existing regulatory regimes covering private military and security companies have reinforced concerns about transparency and accountability in respect of gender-related violence, harassment and discrimination. This chapter focuses on the main issues and legal concerns raised by the impact of the privatisation of war on women, both as PMSC employees and civilians. Part I highlights how armed conflict, civil unrest, occupation and transition have a detrimental effect upon the lives of women with particular reference to safety, displacement, health and economic disadvantage. Part II provides a summary of …

Human Rights And Genocide: The Work Of Lauterpacht And Lemkin In Modern International Law, Part I, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

2008 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly. These two instruments adopted and proclaimed by then newly formed world body on successive days, 9 and 10 December 1948 respectively, represent two sides of one coin. Born of the horrors of the 1930s and 40s, the United Nations Charter speaks of human rights and to the importance of the rule of law. The Genocide Convention and UDHR are integral to the pursuit of these aims.

The work of two international lawyers, Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, …

Access To Justice For Minority Groups, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

From the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia to the present-day efforts to resolve the fate of Kosovo, the community of states have continually been preoccupied with minorities. The demarcation of state territorial boundaries often means that there are groups distinguishable from the governing elites or majority. This situation may result in discrimination or persecution of minorities and their members; or conversely, agitation by the minority or its representatives for special treatment or secession.

The threat that this potentially volatile situation poses for regional and international peace and security explains the international community's recurring efforts in the field. It is not surprising …

Remembering And Reconciliation: An International Law Perspective, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Most states are going through or have gone through periods of ‘transition’ which have involved a collective confrontation with past painful events. However, since the 1990s, there has been a proliferation of legal and non-legal mechanisms created to promote reconciliation and accountability in post-authoritarian or post-conflict societies. These mechanisms have been heavily influenced by (and have influenced) international law norms in the field of human rights, humanitarian law and international criminal law. Failure to address promptly and effectively the lingering legacy of gross violations of human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law impact on victims directly and …

Minorities, Cultural Rights And The Protection Of Intangible Heritage, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The protection of intangible cultural heritage has often been regarded as the long neglected area of international cultural heritage law. Indeed, while international conventions for the protection of movable and immovable, tangible heritage have been operational for several decade, a specialist multilateral instrument covering intangible heritage was only finalised in 2003. Yet, the safeguarding of intangible heritage has preoccupied international law for well over a century. I argue that the question of intangible cultural heritage in international law has influenced, and is influenced by, the protection of minorities and the articulation of cultural rights. Treaties covering these various areas contain …