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Treaties,
Legislation and Policies
As an advocate
for the resource the ACUA is often called upon to provide information
and advice on management of submerged cultural resources to an ever-growing
number of international government agencies. To be effective, it is
important to respond quickly with good information. Each item was carefully
selected to provide background and an overview of current international
treaties on the management and protection of cultural heritage, including
underwater cultural heritage, information on the role of museums in
prohibiting the exploitation of sites and trafficking in artifacts,
examples of legislation, and information on sovereign immunity and US
Naval ships.
International
Initiatives or Conventions on the Protection of Cultural Heritage
ICOMOS
Charter for
the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage, 1990
Charter
on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, 1996
UNESCO
Activities
on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict (the Hague Convention),
1954
Convention
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit
Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 1970
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural Heritage
and Natural Heritage, 1972
Convention
on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2001
European Conventions
European Cultural Convention, 1954
European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage,
1969 (rev. 1992)
European Convention on Offences Relating to Cultural Property,1985
Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (Unidroit
Convention), 1995
European Landscape Convention, 2000
Inter-American
Conventions
Convention for the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions
and
Historic Monuments (The Roerich Pact) 1935
Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological, Historical, and
Artistic Heritage of the American Nations,
1976
Resolutions
Lisbon Resolution on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
International Symposium on the Archaeology
of Medieval and
Post-medieval Ships of Iberian-Atlantic Tradition,
1998. [PDF file]
Legislation
for Underwater Cultural Heritage
Not
all domestic legislation provides the same level of protection for underwater
cultural heritage. With the passage of the UNESCO Convention on the
Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage it is expected that legislation
will be developed that will improve both protection and public access
and interpretation. The following is only a small sample of extant domestic
legislation internationally and in the United States. As new legislative
initiatives are implemented, they will be included.
International
Australia: Historic Shipwrecks Act of 1976.
Bermuda: The Historic Wreck and National Collection Act 1989,
a bill.
United Kingdom: Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Merchant
Shipping Act 1995.
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
Northern Ireland: Historic Monuments and Archaeological
Objects (Northern Ireland)
Order1995
Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 1625 (N.I. 9)
United States
Texas: The Antiquities Code of Texas
(revised August 30, 1995).
Wisconsin:
Wisconsin's Major Historic Preservation Statutes. State Historical Society
of Wisconsin, Division of
Historic Preservation.
Federal:
Public Laws
Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 433).
National Historic Preservation Act of
1966(16 U.S.C. 470).
Archaeological and Historic Preservation
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 469).
Archaeological Resources Protection Act
of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa).
Theft of Government Property (18 U.S.C.
641).
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 (43 U.S.C.
2101).
Documents, Historical Artifacts, and Condemned
or Obsolete Combat Material:
Loan, Gift, or Exchange(10
U.S.C. 2572).
Code
of Federal Regulations
Archaeological Resources Protection Act
Final Uniform Regulations (32 CFR 229).
Protection of Historic Properties (36
CFR 800).
Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for Historic Preservation Projects (36 CFR 68).
Abandoned Shipwreck Act Guidelines (55
FR 50116).
National Register of Historic Places (36
CFR 60).
Determinations of Eligibility for Inclusion
in the National Register of Historic Places (36 CFR 63).
Recovery of Scientific, Prehistoric, Historic,
and Archaeological Data (36 CFR 66)
Curation of Federally Owned and Administered
Archaeological Collections (36 CFR 7)
Museum Policies and Standards
International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM), Standards for the
Exploration of Underwater Cultural Sites and the Acquisition, Preservation
and Exhibition of Artifacts Recovered from Shipwrecks and Other Sites.
Press release, September 21, 1993.
International Council
of Museums (ICOM), Statues. Acquisitions to Collections, Disposal of
Collections, Code of Professional Conduct. 1987.
Council of American
Maritime Museums (CAMM), Bylaws.
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