Cultural Heritage Law Commons^™

Art As Resistance, Art As Hope: The Crane, The Nopal, And The Knowledge They Carry, Mayra Urbina

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This reflection explores the crane-and-nopal motif in Talavera Poblana ceramics as a lens for understanding artisan knowledge, cultural identity, and the impacts of globalization on Indigenous communities. Through my own painting of a Talavera-style vase, I trace the layered colonial history embedded in this motif — including the quiet resistance of Indigenous artisans who encoded Aztec memory into colonial art forms by replacing the eagle with the crane. The reflection examines how globalization threatens artisan traditions through fast-fashion appropriation, the limitations of Mexico's 2022 cultural heritage protection law, and the displacement of Indigenous artisans in Mexico City. Ultimately, I argue …

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

The Intersection Of Cultural Rights And The Repatriation Of African Art: A Comparative Analysis Of International And North American Legal And Ethical Frameworks, Kennedy Wilson

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

The debate surrounding the repatriation of African and Indigenous art held in global museums is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands an examination of its historical, legal, and ethical dimensions. Emmanuel Macron's 2018 statement in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, encapsulates the core of this debate: “I cannot accept that a large part of the cultural heritage of several African countries is in France,” he declared. “There are historical explanations for this but there is no valid, lasting and unconditional justification. African heritage cannot be only in private collections and European museums.” This sentiment perfectly captures the profound unease surrounding the …

Statues Of Fraud : Confederate Monuments As Public Nuisances, Emily T. Behzadi

Faculty Scholarship

The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other African Americans have capitulated a new wave of social activism throughout the United States. Notwithstanding the existence of one of the most infectious diseases of the 21st century, racist and unrestrained police violence continues to plague American society. The unprecedented national uprisings resulting from the brutal killings of African Americans have positioned the U.S. on the precipice of immense social and political change. This transitory period is marked by an amalgamation of social, political, and cultural influences. However, the continued exhibition of Confederate monuments inexorably stymies the ability to remedy …

Destruction Of Cultural Heritage As A Violation Of Human Rights: Application Of The Alien Tort Statute, Emily T. Behzadi

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, armed conflicts around the world have occasioned widespread destruction of cultural heritage sites. From the demolition of Palmyra in the Syrian Arab Republic to the destruction of Sufri Shrines in Mali, the intentional despoliation of these important cultural heritage sites is not only an uncontroverted violation of international law but a form of cultural genocide. The destruction of cultural heritage profoundly impacts citizenry on a local, national, and global level. Cultural heritage is an expression of fundamental and universally recognized human rights, including rights to freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and religion, and …

Fashion's Brand Heritage, Cultural Heritage, And The Piracy Paradox, Felicia Caponigri

Journal Articles

This Article explores the role that heritage has on our understanding of the appropriateness of intellectual property protection for fashion designs in light of Christopher Sprigman and Kal Raustiala’s seminal work in The Piracy Paradox. At times, heritage seems to both reinforce Sprigman and Raustiala’s argument that fashion thrives in a low-IP regime and, at other times, heritage challenges that argument. Taking Italian fashion design as a case study, this Article considers the intersection of brand heritage, cultural heritage, and intellectual property law and makes three central observations. First, that fashion designs reflecting brand heritage thrive in a low-IP regime. …

Legal Frameworks For Protecting Cultural Heritage In Conflict Zones, Marcie M. Muscat

Dissertations and Theses

Cultural heritage has always been at risk during times of war. UNESCO first endeavored to address the issue shortly after World War II, in 1954, when it passed the first of three signature conventions to protect against the damage, destruction, and pillage of cultural property in times of armed conflict. Lacunae and other deficiencies in their frameworks, however, rendered these conventions difficult to enforce and largely ineffectual. This study offers an assessment of the strengths and limitations of the UNESCO system of cultural-heritage protection, with a particular focus on the 1954 Hague Convention. It is argued that, by superseding certain …

Keeping The Barbarians At The Gates: The Promise Of The Unesco And Unidroit Conventions For Developing Countries, Michael Goodyear

Articles & Chapters

The illicit trade in cultural property is a global phenomenon, powered by criminal networks and smuggling trains that sacrifice local culture for the black market of the art world. Headlines featuring the Islamic State’s lucrative exchange in stolen cultural property, among other incidents, have raised the profile of the illicit cultural property trade on the global stage. Developing countries, as the most prominent source countries of cultural property, are particularly at risk. Existing scholarship has searched for a solution to this crisis, suggesting a new international treaty to protect cultural property or recommending the utilization of adjacent legal fields. However, …

Ex Situ Preservation Of Historic Monuments In The Era Of Climate Change, Shelby D. Green

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Cultural heritage (historic buildings, landscapes, and natural monuments) is being threatened by all manner of evils--attacks by belligerents seeking military advantages, increased consumptive uses, and significantly, the idiosyncratic effects of climate change. Climate change portends sea level rise and coastal erosion threats that will inundate coastal areas and the historic structures located there. Melting permafrost and changes in soil composition threaten the loss of buried archaeological evidence and compromise the integrity of ancient buildings designed for a less malevolent climate.

State and local governments have been undertaking measures to build sustainable communities to mitigate the coming changes in the climate, …

How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Law, Cultural Heritage, And Climate Change In The United States, Casey J. Snyder

Pace Environmental Law Review

Climate change is a reality. What happens climatically over the upcoming centuries is partially dependent on the comprehensiveness of a global response to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. However, within a century, forecasts predict a one-meter sea level rise that could have grave implications to our society: the loss of an incalculable extent of cultural heritage. This Article examines the threat climate change poses to physical cultural heritage, like archaeological sites and historic structures, and the current framework of law, regulation, and policy in the United States meant to protect these resources. This Article blends research and data from climate …

Blood Antiquities: Preserving Syria’S Heritage, Claire Stephens

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The recent large-scale looting of archaeological sites across Syria at the hands of ISIS has brought the devastating effects of the illegal international antiquities market into stark relief. Not only are these illicit excavations irreparably destroying human history, they also enable ISIS to sell Syria’s cultural property to fund their jihad. This note examines the international and domestic laws that regulate this illicit antiquities trade. This note further identifies that, while these laws provide a meaningful legal framework, their ineffective implementation prevents them from effectively regulating the illicit antiquities market. Without effective market regulation, buyers in art market countries will …

Blood Antiquities: Addressing A Culture Of Impunity In The Antiquities Market, Paul Williams, Christin Coster

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

For decades, parties to conflicts have used the cover of war to destroy and loot cultural property and antiquities for financial gain and symbolic victory. The “blood antiquities” excavated in conflict areas and sold mostly in western markets fuel not only continued conflict, but also (as in cases such as Syria and Iraq) terrorism that can reach around the world. The culture of impunity for both buyers and sellers of antiquities allows the blood-antiquities trade to thrive.

A robust international legal framework does exist to ensure accountability for the destruction of cultural heritage. Because looting is a major cause of …

An Issue Of Monumental Proportions: The Necessary Changes To Be Made Before International Cultural Heritage Laws Will Protect Immoveable Cultural Property, Matthew Smart

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Cultural heritage has been targeted during military conflicts throughout history. Currently, the conflict in Syria is resulting in the destruction of ancient immoveable cultural heritage property. This destruction is particularly devastating because Syria has served as a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures throughout history. This note examines the history of international laws aimed at the protection of cultural heritage property. After applying those laws to the current Syrian conflict, this note offers multiple suggestions to improve the protection of immoveable cultural heritage property. The improvements advanced by this note include necessary changes to the current regime of international …

Of Temples And Territory: The Icj's Preah Vihear Decision And Implications For Regional Dispute Resolution, Sally Tyler

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Occupying a mere 4.6 kilometers on the frontier betweenThailand and Cambodia, the temple of Preah Vihear maintains secondary importance in the pantheon of ancient Khmer architecture to the more celebrated complex at Angkor. Even so, it has been the source of tremendous conflict throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This conflict claimed the lives of both civilians and soldiers in 2011, and forced the dislocation of tens of thousands of villagers. Encompassing questions of cultural heritage and border demarcation, Preah Vihear has grown as a symbol of identity and self-direction within both Thailand and Cambodia. The 1962 International Court of …

Protecting Cultural Heritage As A Means For International Peace, Security And Stability, Mark V. Vlasic, Helga Turku

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Cultural aggression has become a strategy to obtain an advantage during war. In a deliberate and methodical pattern extremists have not only damaged and destroyed historical sites in Iraq and Syria, but they have also looted antiquities to raise money for their terrorist activities. In addition to degrading the victims' identities, such acts decrease the wealth of knowledge of the world as a whole. By examining various treaties and case law on cultural property, this Article highlights the importance of holding these perpetrators accountable. Furthermore, the protection of cultural property in war zones should be an element in the whole …

King Tut And Tahrir Square: The Egyptian Revolution Of 2011 And The Advantage Of Viewing Cultural Heritage Destruction Through A Right To Culture Lens, Zoe Niesel

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Clarifying Cultural Property, Kristen A. Carpenter, Sonia K. Katyal, Angela R. Riley

Publications

Author Stephenie Meyer forever altered the cultural existence of Quileute Indians when she wrote them into her Twilight novels. Now a veritable global phenomenon complete with books, movies, and affiliated merchandise, the Twilight series depicts young, male members of the tribe as vampire-fighting werewolves who ferociously defend a peace and territorial treaty made with local bloodsuckers. In reality, the Quileute Tribe consists of approximately 700 Indians, many of whom live on a remote reservation in the Pacific Northwest, a tiny parcel of the once vast Quileute territory. Since Twilight's unprecedented international success, the Quileute have been overwhelmed with fans …

Investing In Culture: Underwater Cultural Heritage And International Investment Law, Valentina S. Vadi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH), which includes evidence of past cultures preserved in shipwrecks, enables the relevant epistemic communities to open a window to the unknown past and enrich their understanding of history. Recent technologies have allowed the recovery of more and more shipwrecks by private actors who often retrieve materials from shipwrecks to sell them. Not all salvors conduct proper scientific inquiry, conserve artifacts, and publish the results of the research; more often, much of the salvaged material is sold and its cultural capital dispersed. Because states rarely have adequate funds to recover ancient shipwrecks and manage this material, however, …

It's Not Just Hair: Historical And Cultural Considerations For An Emerging Technology, Deborah Pergament

Chicago-Kent Law Review

History reflects the social, religious and political importance of human hair. Individuals have used hairstyles to flaunt social conventions about gender, race, sexual identity, and social status. Totalitarian governments have regulated hairstyles as a means of social control and dehumanization. Today, advances in technology now make it possible to discover information about an individual's current or potential health status. Judicial decisions and administrative regulations offer individuals limited protection from state or institutional intrusion into the information revealed by genetic hair analysis. This Article argues that the explosion of technologies that use hair to reveal intimate details of an individual's biological …

Historic Preservation--An Individual's Perspective, Mark Macdonald, Richard D. Simms

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Preservation Of Historical Areas, Wilfrid A. Schroder

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.