Roundtable on "Methodology of International Cultural Heritage Law" was successfully held
Date：2023/03/18 16:43:03
On March 16, 2023, the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China, the UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage at the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Kent and the University of Toulouse I co-organized a roundtable on "Methodologies in International Cultural Heritage Law". The roundtable on "Methodology of International Cultural Heritage Law" was successfully held online. The conference was part of the first International Doctoral Forum on Cultural Heritage Law of the four universities, which was originally planned for December 2, 2022, but was rescheduled for March 16, 2023 due to schedule changes. More than 20 members of the four universities' cultural heritage law research teams, as well as relevant researchers and doctoral students from sister institutions, participated in this roundtable. Professor Wang Yunxia, Director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China Law School, and host of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage Law, and Ana Vrdoljak, host of the UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage at the University of Technology Sydney, participated in the roundtable. Professor Ana Vrdoljak, Professor Sophie Vigneron, University of Kent Law School, UK, and Professor Clementine Bories, University of Toulouse 1, France, were speakers at the round table. The round table was chaired by Professor Ana Vrdoljak.
Professor Ana Vrdoljak welcomed the guests. She said that the study of international cultural heritage law involves different disciplines and research methods such as comparative law, international law, private law, legal history, etc. It is crucial for PhD students to master multiple disciplines and skillfully apply research methods from each discipline. She hoped that young scholars would pay attention to the interdisciplinary research of cultural heritage law and fully learn the research methods of each discipline.
Professor Clementine Bories presented her views on the study of public international law and cultural heritage law. She argued that there should be an intrinsic link between public international law and cultural heritage law. International law researchers and international law lawyers should remain open to legal issues in the field of cultural heritage and need to think beyond the legal norms to cultural heritage issues from the perspective of cultural rights and human dignity. Researchers also need to consider the role played by the various sources of international law in the field of cultural heritage, particularly the role of international soft law and its impact on domestic law. At the same time, international law researchers and international law lawyers also need a sufficient knowledge base to interpret cultural heritage related concepts in international law. The above perspective can serve as a bridge between public international law and cultural heritage law.
Professor Sophie Vigneron introduced the use of comparative law in the study of cultural heritage law. She pointed out that the application of comparative law in the field of cultural heritage law starts with the basic questions of "what to compare," "why to compare," and "the goal of comparison" in order to determine the appropriate object of comparison She argues that in the field of cultural heritage law, researchers should first think about the basic questions of "what to compare," "why to compare," and "objectives of comparison" in order to determine the appropriate objects of comparison and the framework of analysis. She believes that researchers should be fully aware of their own cultural and legal backgrounds and the impact of translated texts on comparative research. Therefore, researchers need to learn the language of the comparator, read widely, understand the social and cultural issues behind cultural heritage law, and on this basis, analyze the differences between different legal systems and legal cultures and the reasons for them.
Professor Wang Yunxia introduced the
training of cultural heritage law talents in China, and analyzed the current
situation and problems of interdisciplinary research on cultural heritage law
in China. She pointed out that, firstly, as an emerging discipline in China,
there are still many basic theoretical issues that need to be solved, such as
the theoretical basis of the rights and obligations of cultural heritage
related subjects and the basis of the legitimacy of the return of cultural
relics, which require researchers to fully understand the essential
characteristics and functions of cultural heritage and to analyze and study
them by applying the basic principles of philosophy, political science and
jurisprudence. Second, cultural heritage law is a highly practical discipline,
which requires researchers to apply sociological research methods to understand
the problems in cultural heritage practice. Thirdly, as a sub-discipline of
law, cultural heritage law needs to focus on the legal relationships in the
protection and utilization of cultural heritage, fully utilize the research
knowledge of various departments of law, and in many cases, even conduct
in-depth research on legal history in order to provide sufficient framework
support for the legal construction of cultural heritage, instead of analyzing
the problems only from the perspective of management or folklore.
In the Q&A session, the doctoral
students had a lively discussion with the guests on the attributes of cultural
heritage law, the use of the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Law Database, and the
role of international cultural heritage law cases in research.
As a brand event of the Chair, this year's
4 Universities International Cultural Heritage Law Consortium for the first
time includes a doctoral colloquium, which provides a platform for academic
exchange between master's and doctoral students and young researchers in
cultural heritage law, and broadening their international perspective. In the
future, the 4 Universities International Cultural Heritage Law Consortium will
provide a platform for academic exchange among master's and doctoral students
and young researchers on cultural heritage law. In the future, the Chair will
continue to create a high-quality academic platform for young researchers and
nurture talents with international perspectives for cultural heritage law
research.
