Research

International Law and Cultural Heritage

— Initiatives

Our research seeks to acknowledge the past, assess the present, and give voice to the priorities of those who create and care for culture in all its manifestations.

The UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage is affiliated with the following scholarly initiatives:

Oxford Commentaries on International Cultural Heritage Law (Oxford University Press)
Cultural Heritage Law and Policy book series (Oxford University Press)
International Journal of Cultural Property (Cambridge University Press)

UNIDROIT’S 1995 Convention Academic Project

4 universities consortium on cultural heritage law (between UTS Law, Renmin Law School, Kent Law School and Toulouse Law School).

The current phase of research

1

Law and policy on cultural heritage

2

Indigenous peoples and cultural heritage

3

Women and Girls and Cultural Heritage

— The current phase

The current phase of our research program (2023-2027) covers:

1

Analysis of international, regional and national law and policy on cultural heritage, including the Oxford Commentaries on International Cultural Heritage Law edited by Francesco Francioni (EUI and Institut de droit international) and Ana Filipa Vrdoljak (UTS)

Cultural Loss, Accountability and Reparations  (Ana Filipa Vrdoljak (UTS), Maria (Mayee) Warren (UTS) and Alicja Jagielska-Burduk (Opole))

2

Indigenous peoples and cultural heritage (Larissa Behrendt (UTS Jumbunna Institute), Dalee Sambo Dorough (UN Expert Mechanism on the Right of Indigenous Peoples), Phil Gordon (Australian Advisory Committee for Indigenous Repatriation), Robynne Quiggin (UTS), Ana Filipa Vrdoljak (UTS), and Raquel Zonia Yrigoyen Fajardo (IIDS))

3

Women and Girls and Cultural Heritage (Janet Blake (Shahid Beheshti University), Patricia Conlan (University of Limerick), Yvonne Donders (University of Amsterdam and UN Human Rights Committee), Lynn Meskell (University of Pennyslavania), Farida Shaheed (UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education), and Ana Filipa Vrdoljak (UTS))

— Work with us

We welcome enquiries from researchers interested in contributing or collaborating with us.

We also welcome applications from those seeking to pursue postdoctoral or doctoral research in the field of cultural heritage law and policy.

‘Culture is the essence of being human.’

(UNESCO, 1970)

UTS respectfully acknowledges that our main campus is located on the Country of the Gadigal. The Gadigal have cared for their community, land and waters for thousands of generations, based on their deep knowledge of their Country. UTS also has facilities on the lands of Bidjigal, Dharug and Gamaygal. We pay our respects to their Ancestors, their Elders and acknowledge their ongoing status as the First Peoples of this land.

The UNESCO Chair supports the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.