Professor Wang Yunxia Conducts a Course Lecture at Minzu University of China
Date：2023/05/20 15:22:48
On the morning of May 21, 2023, Professor Wang Yunxia, Director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at the Law School of Renmin University of China and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage Law, was invited by the Law School of Minzu University of China to give a course lecture titled "Legal Issues on the Restitution and Return of Looted Cultural Objects" for the university's global competency minor program in "Foreign-related Rule of Law and International Organizations." The lecture, hosted by Associate Dean Wang Shuai of the Law School of Minzu University of China, was broadcast live online via Tencent Meeting and the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center's video account, with over three hundred faculty, students, and cultural heritage enthusiasts participating both online and offline.
Professor Wang Yunxia began with the concept of the illegal trafficking of cultural objects, providing a detailed explanation of the reasons for the return of such objects. She introduced important international conventions and other international legal mechanisms for combating the illegal trafficking of cultural objects and promoting their return. Based on this, she analyzed how to use different international rules to facilitate the restitution and return of cultural objects looted abroad under various circumstances. She pointed out that cultural objects are special properties, and the illegal trafficking of such objects infringes upon the rights of the people of the country of origin and endangers the order of cultural object transactions. The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its protocols, the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and the UNIDROIT Convention of 1995 on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects provide an international legal framework for combating the illegal trafficking of cultural objects and promoting the return of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects to their country of origin or original owners. However, due to the lack of retroactive effect, they cannot solve the problem of returning cultural objects that were lost historically. In response to such issues, Professor Wang analyzed the significant role of diverse international soft law rules and introduced new regulations on the return of colonial cultural objects in countries such as France and Germany. Finally, she suggested that China could use negotiations, litigation, and the promotion of civilian forces to retrieve our country's cultural objects lost overseas.
During the interactive session, participants engaged in a lively and in-depth exchange with teachers and students on the issue of restitution of looted cultural objects. Professor Wang Yunxia provided detailed answers to questions about museum professional ethics, the relationship between cultural nationalism and cultural internationalism, the restitution of Japanese cultural objects, and the connection between cultural heritage law and criminal law.
As a cooperating unit of the UNESCO Chair, the Law School of Minzu University of China actively participates in the work of the Chair and carries out related teaching and public training activities around the Chair's mission. This lecture is part of the series of lectures on "International Governance and Domestic Response in Cultural Heritage Protection" for the minor program in "Foreign-related Rule of Law and International Organizations" at Minzu University. The course invites experts and practitioners in the field of cultural heritage to give special lectures on the background, main content, system, implementation mechanism, and latest developments of international conventions in the cultural field, as well as China's performance in fulfilling its obligations, such as the importance of cultural heritage protection, the issue of cultural heritage protection and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the issue of world heritage protection management, the international and domestic protection mechanisms for intangible cultural heritage, and the role of NGOs in promoting international cooperation in cultural heritage protection, etc. Minzu University also offers an elective course in cultural heritage law at the Law School and a compulsory course in "Foreign-related Cultural Law" for the class of law (foreign-related rule of law talents). The Chair will further strengthen its close cooperation with cooperating units such as Minzu University to enrich the forms of activities and enhance their influence.
