Global cultural governance by Investment Arbitral Tribunals:the making of a Lex Administrativa Culturalis

The protection of cultural heritage is a fundamental public interest, closely connected to fundamental human rights and deemed to be among the best guarantees of international peace and security. Economic globalization has spurred a more intense dialogue and interaction among nations, potentially promoting cultural diversity. However, this phenomenon may also jeopardize cultural heritage. Foreign direct investments in the extraction of natural resources have the ultimate capacity to change cultural landscapes and erase memories. Foreign investment in cultural industries can induce cultural homogenization. However, international investment law constitutes a legally binding and highly effective regime that requires that states promote and facilitate foreign direct investment. Does the existing legal framework adequately protect cultural heritage vis-à-vis economic globalization? This Article investigates the distinct interplay between the promotion of foreign direct investment and the protection of cultural heritage in international law, addressing the question of whether a lex administrativa culturalis, or cultural administrative law, has emerged. In particular, this Article questions whether international investment law and arbitration can be a tool for enforcing international cultural law and whether arbitral tribunals can promote good and effective cultural governance

¿Un castillo de destinos cruzados?:La gobernanza cultural global por los tribunales económicos internacionales

La globalización económica y la gobernanza económica internacional han estimulado intensos diálogos entre las naciones, promoviendo potencialmente la diversidad cultural y proporcionando fondos para recuperar y preservar el patrimonio cultural. Pero estos fenómenos pueden suponer también amenazas para el patrimonio. La inversión directa extranjera en la extracción de recursos naturales es capaz de cambiar los paisajes culturales y borrar la memoria; el comercio de bienes culturales puede inducir a la homogeneización cultural. Al mismo tiempo, regímenes jurídicamente vinculantes y altamente efectivos exigen a los Estados la promoción de la inversión directa extranjera y el libre comercio. El artículo investiga las distintas relaciones entre la promoción de la integración económica y la protección del patrimonio cultural ante dos sistemas internacionales de arreglo de controversias: los tribunales arbitrales de los tratados de inversión y el mecanismo de solución de diferencias de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, analizando si prestan la debida atención a la protección del patrimonio cultural, contribuyendo a la unión de discursos coherentes y principios generales del derecho emergentes Economic globalization and international economic governance have spurred a more intense dialogue among nations –potentially promoting cultural diversity and providing the funds to recover and preserve cultural heritage. However, these phenomena can also jeopardize cultural heritage. Foreign direct investments in the extraction of natural resources have the capacity to change cultural landscapes and erase memory; trade in cultural goods can induce cultural homogenization. In parallel, legally binding and highly effective regimes demand states to facilitate foreign direct investment and free trade. This article investigates the distinct interplay between the promotion of economic integration and the protection of cultural heritage before two separate international dispute resolution systems: i.e. investment treaty arbitral tribunals and the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism. It addresses the question as to whether international economic ‘courts’ pay adequate attention to the need of protecting cultural heritage, contributing to the coalescence of consistent narratives and emerging general principles of la

Spatio-Temporal Dimensions of Indigenous Sovereignty in International law

The sovereignty of indigenous peoples has long been a matter of debate. This chapter investigates the spatio-temporal dimensions of indigenous sovereignty in international law. The topic holds both theoretical relevance and contemporary practical significance, as it can inform and transform ongoing debates on the rights of indigenous people. The chapter highlights the importance of history in any serious and constructive consideration of the territorial and spatial dimensions of sovereignty. It also highlights that a just or at least fair resolution of any question relating to sovereignty, including its territorial dimension, must fully consider competing stories, histories, and temporalities of sovereignty. This method of analysis infuses the concept of sovereignty with inter-civilisational connotations, which are often neglected in current debates. The chapter supports the emergence of novel concepts, such as parallel sovereignty, to complement and give further impulse to the self-determination of indigenous peoples within the state. This reflection appeals to the experiences and histories of non-Western cultures and civilisations, thereby opening new avenues for informing future theory and practice of international law

International law and its histories:methodological risks and opportunities

The history of international law has recently come to the forefront of legal debates. Defined as the field of study that examines the evolution of public international law investigating state practice, the development of given legal concepts and the life and work of its makers, the history of international law (HIL) or international legal history has attracted the growing attention of international lawyers and legal historians, as well as other interested audiences. Despite its flourishing, the history of international law is still in search of a proper methodology. Two cultures of writing history compete in its making: ‘historians’ histories’ and ‘jurists’ histories’. While legal historians are interested in the past for its own sake and put it in context, lawyers tend to be interested in the past for the light it throws on the present. Several questions arise in this context. Should one stick to intra-disciplinary approaches, or endorse a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary stance, enabling international lawyers and legal historians to work together in mapping the history of international law? This article has an exploratory character and aims to address these questions investigating the converging divergences of the two cultures of writing the histories of international law

Investing in culture:underwater cultural heritage and international investment law

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH), which includes evidence of past cultures preserved in shipwrecks, enables the relevant epistemic communities to open a window to the unknown past and enrich their understanding of history. Recent technologies have allowed the recovery of more and more shipwrecks by private actors who often retrieve materials from shipwrecks to sell them. Not all salvors conduct proper scientific inquiry, conserve artifacts, and publish the results of the research; more often, much of the salvaged material is sold and its cultural capital dispersed. Because states rarely have adequate funds to recover ancient shipwrecks and manage this material, however, commercial actors seem to be necessary components of every regulatory framework governing UCH. In this context, this Article aims to reconcile private interests with the public interest in cultural heritage protection. Such reconciliation requires that international law be reinterpreted and reshaped in order to better protect and preserve UCH and that preservation of cultural heritage be recognized as a key component of economic, social, and cultural development