Heritage

Contentsannex ii – underwater cultural heritage from the first world war125for States to protect their underwater cultural heritage, but only allows for effective protectivepowers up to the limits of the Contiguous Zone, i.e. up to 24 miles from the coast. 7In the large space between the Area and the Contiguous Zone, that is, the remainingEEZ and on the Continental Shelf, underwater cultural heritage remainsunprotected. Even more problematic, Article 303(3) UNCLOS stipulates that‘Nothing in this article affects … the law of salvage or other rules of admiralty…’.UNCLOS thereby leaves room for the commercial destruction of underwater culturalheritage. It has even been criticized as constituting an ‘invitation to looting’. 8The legal vacuum is rectified by the UNESCO 2001 Convention. The Conventionoffers comprehensive legal protection to underwater cultural heritage and sets ethicalprinciples and scientific guidelines for research.The 2001 Convention formulates a comprehensive and universal protection regime,which means that wrecks do not have to be inscribed on a specific list to be protected.The Convention explicitly prohibits unscientific activities from intruding upon anddestroying underwater cultural heritage sites without respect to the need to protectand preserve them. The Convention covers all waters and maritime zones, greatlyextending the legal protection of underwater cultural heritage. A special added valueis the scientific regulation of activities directed at underwater cultural heritage set bythe Convention’s Annex. Moreover, special regard for grave sites is guaranteed. Sitesare protected by the UNESCO 2001 Convention after having remained submergedfor at least 100 years. As such, the First World War wrecks will begin to fall under theprotection of the convention during the centenary years of 2014-2018.7 See Article 303(2).8 ‘For some of its aspects … it can even be considered not only insufficient, but also counterproductive andcorresponding to an invitation to the looting of the heritage in question’. Tullio Scovazzi, in Wolfrum(ed.), 2008, The Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law.