Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
Legal Protection of Cultural Heritage
Professor Fiona Macmillan
f.macmillan@bbk.ac.uk
Office Hours: Wednesday 11,30-13,00, Room Number 266
Class meets: Mondays, 10,00-11,45; Wednesdays, 10,00-11,45 and Thursdays, 14,00-15,45
Beginning Monday, March 5.
7 CFU
Spring 2012
Course description
The course will focus on tangible and intangible forms of heritage, and their relationship to
concepts of cultural property. Its assessment of the legal regimes for the protection of cultural
heritage will commence at the international level with a consideration of the various
international conventions emanating from UNESCO and UNIDROIT. This will be followed
by an examination of the way in which the international trade regime engages with cultural
heritage issues. The course will then consider other legal strategies for protecting cultural
heritage, including the use of intellectual property law, and related sui generis regimes, to
protect “traditional” culture and knowledge.
Course Learning Objectives
This course aims:
 To provide students with the necessary means to develop a knowledge base and
evaluative understanding of the following matters:
 foundational principles, and key international primary legal sources, relating to
the protection of cultural heritage;
 relationship between the international trade regime and the protection of
cultural heritage;
 interaction between concepts of culture, cultural heritage and intellectual
property law;
 issues in national implementation of cultural heritage obligations;
 theoretical debates in relation the connection between personhood, property,
culture and cultural heritage.
 To develop tools that will permit students to identify relevant issues of international
and comparative law and to begin analysing and researching them.
 To develop critical skills in analyzing the relationship between theoretical debates and
approaches to legal regulation at the international and national level.
Course Learning Activities
To achieve the above objectives, students will write a research paper, make a presentation to
the class based on their research paper, and engage in class discussions/debates.
Assessment tools
The course will be assessed on the following basis:
4000 word research essay
50% of final grade
1
Studying Law at Roma Tre
Final examination
Syllabus
50% of final grade
Attendance policy
Students are expected to prepare for, attend and participate in all classes.
Course Reading Materials
There is no textbook for this course. In addition to the primary sources listed in the Class
Schedule, readings for the course will be assigned from the secondary sources listed
below, as indicated in the Class Schedule.
A Anghie, “Human Rights and Cultural Identity: New Hope for Ethnic Peace?” (1992) 33
HIJL 339
J Blake, “On Defining Cultural Heritage” (2000) 49 International and Comparative Law
Quarterly 61-85
M Blakeney, “Protecting Traditional Cultural Expression: The International Dimension” in
Bowrey and Macmillan 2006 (eds) , infra
M Blakeney, “The Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions”, Report for EC-ASEAN
Intellectual Property Rights Co-operation Programme (2009a)
M Blakeney, “The Protection of Traditional Knowledge by Geographical Indications” (2009)
3 IJIPM
M F Brown, Who Owns Native Culture? (Cambridge, Mass, 2004)
K A Carpenter, S Katyal and A Riley, “In Defense of Property”, Fordham University, Legal
Studies Research Paper No 1220665; University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Legal
Studies Research Paper No 08-20; YLJ, 2009
R J Coombe, The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties (Durham/London, 1998)
R J Coombe, “‘Owning Culture’: Locating Community Subjects and their Properties” (2009)
C Fox, “The Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects: An
Answer to the World Problem of Illicit Trade in Cultural Property” (1993) 9 AUJILP 225
M Frigo, “Cultural property v cultural heritage: A ‘battle of concepts’ in international law?”
(2004) 86(854) IRRC 367
C Graber, “The New UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity: A Counterbalance to the
WTO?” (2006) 9 JIEL 553
M Hahn, “A Clash of Cultures? The UNESCO Diversity Convention and International Trade
Law” (2006) 9 JIEL 515
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
F Macmillan, “The UNESCO Convention as a New Incentive to Protect Cultural Diversity” in H
Schneider and P van den Bossche (eds), Protection of Cultural Diversity from a European
and International Perspective (Mortsel, 2008a)
F Macmillan, “Human Rights, Cultural Property and Intellectual Property: Three Concepts in
Search of a Relationship” in C Graber and M Nenova (eds), Intellectual Property and
Traditional Cultural Expressions in a Digital Environment (Cheltenham, 2008b)
L V Prott, “UNESCO and Unidroit: A Partnership Against Trafficking in Cultural Objects”
[1996] 1 Uniform Law Review 59
M J Radin, “Property and Personhood” (1982) 34 Stan LR 957
A Rahmatian, “Universalist Norms for a Globalised Diversity: On the Protection of
Traditional Cultural Expressions” in F Macmillan (ed), New Directions in Copyright Law:
Volume 6 (Cheltenham, 2007)
B Robbins and E Stamatopoulou, “Reflections on Culture and Cultural Rights” (2004) 103
South Atlantic Quarterly 419
I Stamatoudi, Cultural Property and Restitution (Cheltenham, 2011)
UNESCO, “The Cultural Heritage of Mankind: A Shared Responsibility” (Paris, 1982,
UNESCO Doc CLT-82/WS/27
A F Vrdoljak, International Law, Museums and the Return of Cultural Objects (Cambridge,
2008)
P K Yu, “Cultural Relics, Intellectual Property, and Intangible Heritage” (2008) 81 Temple
Law Review 433-506
Supporting / Recommended course reading material
J S Anaya, “Indigenous Rights – Norms in Customary International Law” (1992) 8 AJICL 1
J S Anaya, Indigenous Peoples in International Law (New York, 2004)
Assembly of First Nations and Canadian Museums Association, Turning the Page: Forging
New Partnerships between Museums and First Peoples (3rd ed, Ottawa, 1994)
J A Auerbach, The Great Exhibition of 1851: A Nation on Display (New Haven, 1999)
K Baslar, The Concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind in International Law (The
Hague, 1998)
P M Bator, “An Essay on the International Trade in Art” (1982) 34 Stan LR 275
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
B Boer, “Cultural and Natural Heritage: Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage” (1987) 6
EPLJ 63
F Macmillan & K Bowrey (eds), New Directions in Copyright Law: Volume 3 (Cheltenham,
2006)
P J Boylan, “Culture and World Trade” (2002) 55 ICOM News 4
Commonwealth of Australia, Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy (Canberra,
1994)
R J Coombe, “The Properties of Culture and the Politics of Possessing Identity: Native
Claims in the Cultural Appropriation Controversy” (1993) CJLJ 249
J Crawford, “The Right of Self-Determination in International Law: Its Development and
Future” in P Alston (ed), Peoples’ Rights (Oxford, 2001)
Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Guidance on the Dealing in Cultural Objects
(Offences) Act 2003 (London, 2004)
R Edwards and J Stewart (eds), Preserving Indigenous Cultures: A New Role for Museums
(Canberra, 1980)
J Gordon, “The UNESCO Convention on the Illicit Movement of Art Treasures” (1971) 12
HILJ 537
C Graber and M Nenova (eds), Intellectual Property and Traditional Cultural Expressions in a
Digital Environment (Cheltenham, 2008)
R Handler, “Who Owns the Past? History, Cultural Property and the Logic of Possesive
Individualism” in B Williams (ed), The Politics of Culture (Washington, 1991)
International Law Association (ILA), Report of the Cultural Heritage Law Committee
(London, 2004)
International Law Association (ILA), A Blueprint for the Development of Cultural Heritage
Law: First Report (London, 2000)
H H Jamieson, “The Protection of Australia’s Movable Cultural Heritage” (1995) 4 IJCP 215
T Janke, Our Culture, Our Future: Report on Australian Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual
Property Rights (Canberra, 1998)
B Kingsbury, “Reconciling Five Competing Conceptual Structures of Indigenous Peoples’
Claims in International and Comparative Law” in Alston (ed), supra
R W Mastalir, “A Proposal for Protecting the ‘Cultural’ and ‘Property’ Aspects of Cultural
Property under International Law” (1992-93) 16 FILJ 1033
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
J H Merryman (ed), Thinking About the Elgin Marbles: Critical Essays on Cultural Property,
Art and Law (The Hague, 1999)
J H Merryman, “Two Ways of Thinking About Cultural Property” (1986) 80 AJIL 831
J H Merryman, “International Art Law: From Cultural Nationalism to a Common Cultural
Heritage” (1983) 15 NYUJILP 757
P M Messenger (ed), The Ethics of Collecting: Whose Culture? Cultural Property: Whose
Property? (Albuquerque, 1989)
M M Miles, Art as Plunder: The Ancient Origins of Debate about Cultural Property
(Cambridge, 2008)
J A R Nafziger, “Comments on the Relevance of Law and Culture to Cultural Property Law”
(1983) 10 SJILC 323
H Nieć (ed), Cultural Rights and Wrongs (Paris, 1998)
N Palmer (ed), The Recovery of Stolen Art: A Collection of Essays (The Hague, 1998)
L V Prott, “Understanding One Another on Cultural Rights” in Nieć (ed), supra
L V Prott, Commentary on the Unidroit Convention (London, 1997)
L V Prott, “Cultural Rights as Peoples’ Rights in International Law” in J Crawford (ed), The
Rights of Peoples (Oxford, 1998)
L V Prott and P J O’Keefe, “‘Cultural Heritage’ or ‘Cultural Property’?” (1992) 1 IJCP 307
L V Prott and P J O’Keefe, Law and the Cultural Heritage (London, 1989)
A Riles, “Aspiration and Control: International Legal Rhetoric and the Essentialization of
Culture” (1993) 106 HLR 723
J L Sax, “Heritage Preservation as a Public Duty: The Abbé Grégoire and the Origins of an
Idea” (1990) 88 Mich LR 1142
J L Sax, “Is Anyone Minding Stonehenge? The Origins of Cultural Property Protection in
England” (1990) 78 Cal LR 1543
H Schneider and P van den Bossche (eds), Protection of Cultural Diversity from a European and
International Perspective (Mortsel, 2008)
F Shyllon, “The Recovery of Cultural Objects by African Status through the UNESCO and
UNIDROIT Conventions and the Role of Arbitration” [2002] 2 ULR 219
T Simpson, Indigenous Heritage and Self-Determination: The Cultural and Intellectual
Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Copenhagen, 1997)
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
A Sljivic, “Why do you think it’s you? An Exposition of the Jurisprudence Underlying the
Debate between Cultural Nationalism and Cultural Internationalism” (1997-1998) 31
GWJILE 393
A Strati, “Deep Seabed Cultural Property and the Common Heritage of Mankind” (1991) 40
ICLQ 859
F D Struell, “Cultural Property: Recent Cases under the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act” (1997) The International Lawyer 691
P Thornberry, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights (New York, 2002)
P Turnbull, “Indigenous Australian People, their Defence of the Dead and Native Title” in C
Fforde, J Hubert and P Turnbull (eds), The Dead and their Possessions: Repatriation in
Principle, Policy and Practice (London 2002)
UNESCO, Cultural Rights as Human Rights (Paris, 1970)
C Waelde and H MacQueen (eds), Intellectual Property: the Many Faces of the Public Domain
(Cheltenham, 2007)
R Wagner, The Invention of Culture (Englewood Cliffs, 1975)
H K Weihe, “Licit International Trade in Cultural Objects for Art’s Sake” in M Briat and J A
Freedberg (eds), Legal Aspects of International Trade in Art (The Hague, 1996)
Course Schedule
Class
1. Monday, 5
March, 10,0011,45
Topic
Pages
Introduction, review of syllabus, overview of course
themes
2. Wednesday, 7 Defining cultural heritage I
March, 10,00 Relationship to “culture”
11,45
Blake 2000
3. Thursday, 8
March, 14,0015,45
Defining cultural heritage II
 Whose culture? Whose property? Role of the
“public domain”?
Brown
2004; Frigo
2004; Radin
1982;
Robbins and
Stamatopoul
ou 2004
4. Monday 12
March, 10,0011,45
Defining cultural heritage III
 Tangible cultural heritage: Buildings,
monuments, artefacts, works of visual art, food
5. Wednesday,
14 March,
10,00-11,45
Defining cultural heritage IV
 Intangible cultural heritage: Literature, music,
film; “knowledge”
6
Studying Law at Roma Tre
Syllabus
6. Thursday, 15
March, 14,0015,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments I
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR)
 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
 Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR)
UDHR, Art
27; CCPR,
Arts 1, 19,
27; CESCR,
Art 15
7. Monday, 19
March, 10,0011,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments II
 UNESCO World Heritage Convention,
http://www.unesco.org/en/culture
World
Heritage
Convention
8. Wednesday,
21 March,
10,00-11,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments III
 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed
Conflict,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/
movable-heritage-and-museums/armedconflict/convention-for-the-protection-ofcultural-property-in-the-event-of-armedconflict-1954/
 Convention on the Protection of Underwater
Cultural Heritage,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/u
nderwater-cultural-heritage/the-2001convention/
Convention
for the
Safeguardin
g of
Intangible
Cultural
Heritage
9. Thursday, 22
March, 14,0015,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments IV
 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of
Intangible Cultural Heritage,
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg
=en&pg=00006
Convention
on the
Protection
of Cultural
Diversity;
Convention
on
Underwater
Cultural
Heritage
10. Monday, 26
March, 10,0011,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments V
 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/c
ultural-diversity/2005-convention/theconvention/convention-text/
UNESCO
Convention
for the
Protection
of Cultural
Property
During
Armed
Conflict;
Convention
on the Illicit
Movement
of Art
Treasures
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
11. Wednesday,
28 March,
10,00-11,45
Syllabus
Protection of Cultural Heritage under international
legal instruments VI
 UNESCO Convention on the Illicit Movement
of Art Treasures,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/
movable-heritage-and-museums/illicit-trafficof-cultural-property/the-1970-convention/
 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally
Exported Cultural Objects,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/
movable-heritage-and-museums/illicit-trafficof-cultural-property/the-unidroit-convention1995/
12. Thursday, 29 Protection of cultural heritage under international
March, 14,00legal instruments VII
15,45
 Interrelationship of UNESCO Conventions
 Relationship with UNIDROIT Convention on
Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects
 Role of UNESCO in establishing an
international cultural regime
13. Monday, 2
April, 10,0011,45
Protection of cultural heritage under international
legal instruments VIII
 Issues in regional and national implementation
14. Wednesday,
4 April, 10,0011,45
International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services I
 Role of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
 General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
(GATT)
Fox 1993;
UNIDROIT
Convention
Prott 1996;
Agreement
Establishing
the WTO;
GATT, esp
Arts I, III,
IV, XX
15. Thursday, 12 International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services
April, 14,00II
15,45
 Role of the WTO (continued)
 General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS)
GATS, esp
Arts I, II,
XIV, XVII
16. Monday, 16
April, 10,0011,45
International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services
III
 Role of the WTO (continued)
 WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement)
TRIPs
Agreement
17. Wednesday,
18 April, 10,0011,45
International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services
IV
 Relationship between WTO Agreements and
UNESCO Conventions
Graber
2006; Hahn
2006;
Macmillan
2008a
18. Thursday, 19 International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services
April, 14,00V
15,45
 Return/restitution of cultural objects
 Role of UNESCO and UNIDROIT
Conventions
 Role of museums and museum policy
Vrdoljak
2008, 197275
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
19. Monday, 23
April, 10,0011,45
Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law I
 Scope of intellectual property protection
 Copyright
20. Wednesday,
25 April, 10,0011,45
Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law II
 Scope of intellectual property protection
(continued)
 Patents
Syllabus
Carpenter,
Katyal &
Riley 2009;
Coombe
1998;
Coombe
2009
21. Thursday, 26 Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law III
April, 14,00 Scope of intellectual property
15,45
 Trade marks and geographical indications
22. Monday, 30
April, 10,0011,45
Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law IV
 Relationship between intellectual property,
cultural property and cultural rights
Radin 1982;
Macmillan
2008b
23. Wednesday,
2 May, 10,0011,45
Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law V
 Intellectual property and the protection of
traditional cultural expressions
Blakeney
2009a; Yu
2008;
Rahmatian
2007
24. Thursday, 3
May, 14,0015,45
Cultural heritage and Intellectual Property Law VI
 Intellectual property and the protection of
traditional knowledge
Blakeney
2009b
25. Monday, 7
May, 10,0011,45
Sui Generis Regimes I
 Legal foundations of sui generis regimes
 Use of international human rights conventions
 Use of UNESCO Conventions
 Role of Conventions on the protection of
intellectual property rights
Anghie
1992
26. Wednesday,
9 May, 10,0011,45
Sui Generis Regimes II
 Initiatives of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO)
 Relationship between WIPO and UNESCO
Blakeney
2006
27. Thursday, 10 Sui Generis Regimes III
May, 14,00 National models for the protection of the rights
15,45
of Indigenous peoples
28. Monday, 14
May, 10,0011,45
Conclusion: An International Cultural Order?
29. Wednesday,
16 May, 10,0011,45
Student Presentations
Vrdoljak
2008, 275304
30. Thursday, 17 Student Presentations
May, 14,0015,45
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Studying Law at Roma Tre
31. Monday, 21
May, 10,0011,45
Student Presentations
32. Wednesday,
23 May, 10,0011,45
Student Presentations. Research essay due.
Friday 1 June
Oral examination (Primo Appello)
Syllabus
10