Members of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage Law Attended the 3rd "Four Universities International Forum on Cultural Heritage Law"
Date：2024/06/15 15:34:56
From June 6th to June 7th, 2024, the 3rd International Conference of the 4 Universities Consortium on Cultural Heritage Law, co-hosted by the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China, the UNESCO Chair on International Law and Cultural Heritage at the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Kent, and Toulouse 1 University Capitole, and organized by the Heritage Center of the University of Kent, was successfully held at the University of Kent. The theme of this conference was "Addressing the Trafficking of Cultural Property Through the Public or Private Law Nexus." Experts, scholars, and representatives from international organizations related to cultural heritage from China, the UK, France, the United States, Australia, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Ethiopia, and other countries participated in this forum. Professor Wang Yunxia, the holder of the Chair and a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China and a distinguished professor at Minzu University of China, Lecturer Hu Shanchen from the Law School of Minzu University and a member of the Chair team, and Professor Li Weifang from the School of International Law at East China University of Political Science and Law, an expert cooperating with the Chair, attended the conference in the UK and made keynote speeches.
The opening ceremony of the forum was chaired by Sophie Vigneron, Director of the Heritage Center at the University of Kent. Professor Rosemary Hunter, Dean of the Law School at the University of Kent, and Matthew Rabagliati, Head of Policy, Research, and Communication at the UNESCO UK National Commission, delivered welcome speeches. The two experts welcomed the arrival of experts and scholars from various countries, pointing out the importance of combating the illegal trafficking of cultural property in protecting cultural human rights, and emphasized the need to promote the synergy of public and private law to combat the illegal trafficking of cultural property.
During the two-day meeting, participants discussed four topics: "Restructuring of Norms - The Connection Between Public and Private Law," "The Role of Stakeholders in the Formulation and Restructuring of International Rules," "The Nexus of Criminal Law in Public and Private Law," and "Restructuring of Norms in Public and Private Law." Professor Wang Yunxia gave a report titled "Main Changes on the Issue of Cultural Restitution in the Revision of the 'Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China'" in the first session and chaired the second session. Teacher Hu Shanchen gave a report titled "The Role of the International Council of Museums in Shaping International Rules on Cultural Property Trafficking" in the second session. Professor Li Weifang gave a report titled "The Influence of International Public Law on International Private Law - Based on the '1970 UNESCO Convention'" in the fourth session and had a heated discussion and in-depth exchange with the participating scholars.
During the forum, a new book launch was also held to promote the new book published by Oxford University Press in 2024, "The 1970 UNESCO and 1995 UNIDROIT Conventions on Stolen or Illegally Transferred Cultural Property: A Commentary." The book was edited by Professor Ana Filipa Vrdoljak from the University of Technology Sydney, Professor Andrzej Jakubowski from the University of Opole in Poland, and Dr Alessandro Chechi from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Professor Wang Yunxia co-authored the commentary on Article 9, "International Cooperation and Bilateral Agreements," of the "1970 UNESCO Convention" with Professor Patty Gerstenblith from DePaul University in the United States.
The 4 Universities Consortium on Cultural
Heritage Law is a series of international symposia on cultural heritage law
jointly initiated by Renmin University of China, the University of Technology
Sydney in Australia, the University of Kent in the UK, and Toulouse 1
University Capitole in France. It is also one of the brand activities of the UNESCO
Chair on Cultural Heritage Law. The first Four Universities Consortium,
"International Symposium on Frontier Issues of Cultural Heritage
Law," was successfully held at the Law School of Renmin University in
2019. The second Consortium was successfully held at the University of
Technology Sydney in December 2022, with Chinese scholars participating online.
This forum was the first time the Chair members attended the Consortium
overseas. The convening of this Consortium not only further strengthened the
cooperation between the Chair and overseas partner universities and experts but
also had a positive significance for promoting international cooperation in
combating the illegal trafficking of cultural property and promoting the
recovery and return of China's looted cultural relics.
