78261 Special Topics in International Law and Cultural Heritage
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): (70106c Principles of Public International Law AND 70107c Principles of Company Law AND (94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04236 Juris Doctor OR 142 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04250 Juris Doctor Master of Business Administration OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04363 Juris Doctor Master of Intellectual Property OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04364 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Trade Mark Law and Practice)) OR (94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04320 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Professional Legal Practice AND 70106c Principles of Public International Law) OR ((22 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C07122 Graduate Diploma Legal Studies OR 22 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04264 Master of Legal Studies))
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Description
This subject surveys international legal protection of cultural heritage. It provides students with a critical overview of the key areas of international cultural heritage law by focusing on its theoretical, substantive and procedural aspects, and its impact on public international law generally.
Although forms of legal protection of cultural heritage have existed since the Renaissance, these initiatives are largely fragmented. However, rapid and diffuse developments in recent decades are leading to the emergent field of international cultural heritage law. This is reflected in the adoption of a range of international instruments covering tangible and intangible heritage, from the monumental to the ephemeral, affording protection during peacetime and armed conflict. Likewise, countries are enacting legislation or overhauling existing laws within their own territory. Beyond these specialist legal conventions, culture and cultural heritage are informing other legal fields including international investment law, e.g. the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and international trade law; the World Trade Organization; international criminal law (as reflected in the case law of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia); intellectual property and the ongoing work of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on traditional knowledge, human rights law, and the rising discourse on cultural rights, indigenous peoples and minorities; and legal theory from liberalism to the latest iterations of critical legal theory.
The subject pays special attention to Australia's role in the development of key aspects of the international protection of cultural heritage, the impact of these international instruments on Australia's protection of cultural heritage and cultural rights, and the protection of the heritage and cultural rights of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
Students engage in reading and discussion of foundational legal instruments, case law, and theoretical texts which define and inform the field of international cultural heritage law. Through select case students consider how the law has developed and the central cleavages and debates which inform the field today.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Understand, reflect upon and interrogate the principles and rules relating to the international legal protection of cultural heritage. |
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| 2. | Distil, interpret and apply these principles and rules to contemporary cultural heritage disputes. |
| 3. | Critically evaluate and synthesise the key theories used to explain and analyse the complex nature and scope of international cultural heritage law. |
| 4. | Identify, analyse and critically evaluate primary and secondary source materials on the international legal protection of cultural heritage and assess their significance and relevance for advance research in this field. |
| 5. | Construct clear, informed, critical, persuasive oral and written arguments distilling advance legal knowledge and independent research. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes which reflect the course intended learning outcomes:
- Legal Knowledge
An advanced and integrated understanding of a complex body of legal knowledge including:
a. The Australian colonial and post-colonial legal system, international and comparative contexts, theoretical and technical knowledge;
b. The broader contexts within which legal issues arise and the law operates including cultural awareness, social justice and policy;
c. The principles and values of justice and ethical practices in lawyers' roles;
d. The impact of Anglo-Australian laws on Indigenous peoples, including their historical origins in the process of colonisation and ongoing impact; and
e. Contemporary developments in law and its professional practice. (1.1) - Critical Analysis and Evaluation
A capacity to think critically, strategically and creatively, including an ability to:
a. Identify and articulate complex legal issues in context, including the skill of critical reading and writing;
b. Apply reasoning and research to generate appropriate theoretical and practical responses; and
c. Demonstrate sophisticated cognitive and creative skills in approaching complex legal issues and generating appropriate responses. (3.1) - Research Skills
Specialist cognitive and practical skills necessary to identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues including an ability to:
a. Demonstrate intellectual and practical skills necessary to justify and interpret theoretical propositions, legal methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions; and
b. Apply ethical research practices. (4.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
Strategy 1: Seminar preparation and self-directed learning
Student preparation, review and reflection prior to classes is central to the learning in this subject. There is considerable reading required for this subject and student need to ensure they allocate time to read and process the materials for each seminar and test their understanding by reflecting on and considering their responses to questions for discussion in each seminar (available on UTS Online).
To ensure that seminars provide the most effective learning experience, students must complete the prescribed readings prior to class and consider and take notes on the questions and themes provided to guide their reading. All learning resources, including readings, seminar questions and other online materials are available on UTS Online or through the UTS Library and associated databases.
Strategy 2: Seminar participation
This subject is based on learning in ‘small group’ seminars that are active, discussion-based and collaborative. Seminar discussion is based on a series of prescribed readings and questions for each class (accessed via UTS Online), which students reflect upon and answer before coming to class. In class, each student participates by sharing their reflections on seminar topics, answering and asking questions, and responding to and debating with their peers’ views and interpretations either in small groups or in a wider class discussion. Participating in this way allows students to test their understanding of the topics, building upon their prior learning and practise their skills of critical analysis, oral communication and presentation. Attendance at seminars is compulsory for all students, and students who do not attend each of the four intensive teaching days (without a legitimate and University-recognise cause) will not be able to pass the subject.
Strategy 3: Collaborative discussion and presentation activities
In class, students also work in small teams on a series of collaborative activities to help develop and test their understanding. One each day of the intensive teaching, students work in small groups in order to collaboratively discuss a prescribed readings and associated questions and prepared and present their finding to their peers.
These activities enable students to identify and reflect upon key themes relating to the international legal protection of cultural heritage. Critical reading exercises will be carried out to equip student to work in groups practising research skills. Students will also work in small groups to present to each other the research questions that they have selected for their research essay. The in-class collaborative discussion also allows students to develop oral communications skills needed for the presentation (Assessment items 1 and 2) and the critical thinking skills they will need for their research essay (Assessment item 3).
Strategy 4: Independent research and reflection
Engaging with the research process requires students to investigate, evaluate, justify and apply a research methodology. This facilitates logical, original, persuasive and complex arguments in response to their research question. Students identify their own topic for the research essay and develop it with feedback from peers and the seminar leader. They will identify appropriate primary and secondary sources for addressing their research question. Students develop and practise their research methodology skills in class, supporting them to make logical, original, persuasive and complex arguments in response to their research question.
Strategy 5: Feedback
Regular and timely feedback is provided through the subject so as to assist students to maximise their potential and improve their learning with each task.
Early feedback: On the first day of intensive teaching students both give and receive peer feedback on their critical reading abilities. Critical reading is key to the understanding and analysis of scholarly materials, and is a skill that translates into any professional context where strategic, creative or critical thinking is required. The benefit of receiving peer feedback so early on in the subject is that students immediately gain a sense of their current levels of technique and understanding and the areas they need to develop. The benefit of giving peer feedback is that it compels students to consider how the assessment criteria are applied and discern how their work may be perceived by others. Students then apply this early feedback to improve their contribution to class discussion, as well as to polish their critical analysis skills required for their presentations and research essay.
Ongoing feedback: Students have the opportunity to receive ongoing feedback from their seminar leader and their peers on their understanding of the materials through regular class participation in the intensive blocks. Students’ preparation, responses to discussion questions, and participation in seminar discussions, form an important part of their learning and enable students to practise and test their capacity to apply relevant historical or theoretical frameworks, to analyse issues relating to the international legal protection of cultural heritage, and develop their communication and self-management skills.
Oral presentation: Students receive extensive oral individual feedback on their research project from both their peers and the seminar leader when they give their presentation (Assessment item 2).
Written feedback: Students also receive feedback on their abstracts and topic choice for their final essay (Assessment item 2). In addition, students receive written feedback on their final research essay from the lecturer (Assessment item 3).
Subject Delivery:
This subject is delivered in intensive mode: two three-hour seminars on successive Saturdays during Summer Term.
Content (topics)
- Theoretical aspects
- Armed conflict and belligerent occupation
- Intentional destruction
- World heritage and underwater heritage
- Trade in cultural goods and restitution
- Intangible heritage and language
- Cultural diversity and international economic law
- Artists’ rights, freedom of expression and cultural rights
- Cultural diversity, human rights, minorities
- Indigenous peoples
- Remedies for cultural loss
- Settlement of disputes
- Cultural heritage and general Public International Law
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Critical reading reflections
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.1 and 3.1 |
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| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | Part A – 500 words; Part B – 500 words; and Part C – no more than 100 words. |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 2: Essay Outline
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 4 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 3.1 and 4.1 |
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| Weight: | 10% |
| Length: | 500 words (excluding bibliography) |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 3: Research essay
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.1, 3.1 and 4.1 |
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| Weight: | 60% |
| Length: | 5,000 words (inclusive of references) |
| Criteria: |
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Minimum requirements
Attendance at all seminars is compulsory in order to pass the subject.
If a student is prevented from attending class as a result of illness or other circumstances beyond the student’s reasonable control, the student may lodge an application for special consideration for consideration of alternative arrangements. Alternative arrangements will be subject to the normal assessment grading.