Law and the underwater cultural heritage : a legal framework for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage of the United Kingdom

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to consider the protection currently afforded by the United Kingdom to its underwater cultural heritage, to examine the need for reform, and to analyse the nature that any reforms should take. The work is in three parts.

Part I documents the history and current state of UK law relating to historic shipwrecks and argues that it is seriously defective in the protection it affords to this important aspect of the cultural heritage. Chapter One examines the various proprietary and possessory interests which exist in wreck and concludes that such interests tend to be given precedence over broader cultural interests. Chapters Two and Three outline the present statutory framework relating to wreck, examine the practices of its administrators and conclude with an assessment of its impact on the underwater cultural heritage. The conclusion reached is that there are serious defects in the statutory framework, some of which could be remedied by changes of administrative practice, but others only by legislative amendment.

Part II considers the reform initiatives that have taken place on a national, and supra-national level. Chapter Four examines the initiatives taken at European and international level. It considers how far the UK's present legal system accords with, or departs from, these initiatives and how much the UK can learn from them in framing new protective measures. Chapter Five analyses developments which have taken place in the UK in the sphere of legal reform, closely documents a recent reform movement and concludes with an assessment of the position of underwater archaeology in the UK in 1992.

Part III identifies and analyses the issues that must be taken into account in a review of the system of protection for the underwater heritage and concludes with proposals for reform. (DX191778)

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