publications | Paul P. Stewens

2024

Law Will Find A Way: Legal Research at the Intersection with Palaeontology

Paul P. Stewens, Nussaïbah B. Raja, and Emma M. Dunne

In Interaktionen: Internationalität, Intra- Und Interdisziplinarität 63. Junge Tagung Öffentliches Recht., 2024

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Fossils, the remains of dinosaurs and other extinct creatures, are not an evident concern for legal scholars. Upon closer consideration, however, it becomes apparent that there is a broad range of pressing legal issues that relate to the extraction, transfer, and ownership of palaeontological objects. This contribution outlines Law and Palaeontology as a field of research that applies a material approach and studies legal issues that relate to fossils. A number of examples and case studies illustrate the diversity of legal fields one can draw on for this: among them colonial looted fossils, the environmental law implications of the trade in mammoth ivory, and the legality of excavations in occupied Crimea under international humanitarian law. The relevance of these issues has so far been disproportionate to the little attention Law and Palaeontology has received. In the absence of legal expertise from debates in palaeontology, a culture of disregard for the law continues to thrive. The considerable demand in palaeontology for legal researchers to, inter alia, weigh in, to review the provenance declarations of studies on foreign fossils, to contribute research methodologies, and to assist collections to meet their due diligence obligations is far from being met. Therefore, legal researchers should consider Law and Palaeontology as a highly visible, versatile, interdisciplinary, and policy-relevant field of research that would develop legal expertise sorely needed in palaeontology.
Are Academic Publishers Ignoring the Theft of Ukrainian Fossils?

Paul P. Stewens

Apr 2024

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Russia is flouting international law by removing fossils from a Crimean cave — and journals seem to look the other way.
“My Genocide, My Responsibility” – The 100’s Massacre at Mount Weather and International Criminal Law

Paul P. Stewens

Oct 2024

Blog

2023

“Ubirajara” and Irritator Belong to Brazil: Achieving Fossil Returns Under German Private Law

Paul Philipp Stewens

International Journal of Cultural Property, Oct 2023

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This article was named Paper of the Month in the section History, Classics and Archaeology by Cambridge University Press, and the International Cultural Property Law Society and the Art-Law Centre of the University of Geneva selected this paper as the best publication by an author under 40 years of age in the International Journal of Cultural Property of 2024. As such, the author is awarded the Pierre Lalive and John Henry Merryman Fellowship in Art and Cultural Heritage Law which is valued at CHF 6,000 that are to be used towards a research stay at the the Art-Law Centre of the University of Geneva.

While disputes concerning the return of antiquities and artworks have become increasingly prevalent and receive public attention, the parallel issue of returning unlawfully exported fossils is rarely discussed. The fossils of “Ubirajara jubatus” and Irritator challengeri are prime examples of such disputes: they were taken from Brazil unlawfully, as Brazilian researchers allege, and displayed in German museums. The return disputes were characterized by both parties relying on arguments based almost exclusively on public (international) law. This Article explores private law as an alternative approach to these and similar disputes, discussing whether the fossils are the property of Brazil and could, therefore, be claimed in an action for restitution under German law. It finds that both fossils belong to Brazil since the museums did not acquire good title through a good faith purchase or acquisitive prescription.

2022

The Return of Fossils Removed Under Colonial Rule

Paul P. Stewens, Nussaïbah B. Raja, and Emma M. Dunne

Santander Art and Culture Law Review, Oct 2022

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Debates on the restitution of colonial loot usually focus on art, antiquities, religious artefacts, and similar objects. Many fossils of considerable scientific and cultural value were also removed under colonial rule, yet they rarely feature in these discussions despite being classified as cultural objects. This article seeks to shed light on the colonial removal of fossils and explore potential avenues for their return under public international law. Instead of focusing on the (il-)legality of colonial takings, we argue that the right to access culture has developed from the right to participate in cultural life in Article 15(1)(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which provides, if not a solid legal basis, a valuable set of arguments for former colonies requesting the return of fossils looted from their countries/territories of origin. The case study of the negotiations on the return of the Broken Hill skull before the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) highlights the potential of this mechanism of dispute resolution with respect to fossils.
The Moral and Legal Imperative to Return Illegally Exported Fossils

Juan C. Cisneros, Aline M. Ghilardi, Nussaïbah B. Raja, and 1 more author

Nature Ecology & Evolution, Oct 2022

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Ethics, Law, and Politics in Palaeontological Research: The Case of Myanmar Amber

Emma M. Dunne, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Paul Philipp Stewens, and 2 more authors

Communications Biology, Oct 2022

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Fossil material in amber from Myanmar can provide important insights into mid-Cretaceous forest ecosystems. However, Myanmar amber has been receiving increased international attention due to reported links between amber mining and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in northern Myanmar, as well as the legal issues associated with its exportation. Here, we conduct a bibliometric analysis of Myanmar amber publications (1990–2021) and demonstrate how research interest in Myanmar amber is explicitly linked to major political, legal, and economic changes. An analysis of the authorship networks for publications on amber inclusions reveals how current research practices have excluded Myanmar researchers from the field. In addition, the international trade of Myanmar amber with fossil inclusions falls into a legal ‘grey-zone’ which continues to be exploited. This case study vividly demonstrates that systemic changes, alongside an increased awareness of inequitable research practices amongst the broader scientific and allied communities, are urgently needed to curb illegal practices in palaeontology.
Two Ways of Thinking About Fossils: Palaeontological Objects Between Fossil Nationalism and Fossil Internationalism

Paul Philipp Stewens

Mar 2022

DOI Blog
Billigkeit, Sittlichkeit, Menschlichkeit: Versuch einer Kritik der Generalklauseln im Völkerrecht

Paul Philipp Stewens

Studentische Zeitschrift für Rechtswissenschaft Heidelberg – Wissenschaft Online, Jan 2022

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Normen, die Bezug auf außerrechtliche Wertvorstellungen wie Treu und Glauben oder Sitte nehmen, sind als Generalklauseln vielfach als Einfallstore für Moral und Politik im Recht kritisiert worden. Meist orientieren sich diese Kritikstrategien an der Gewaltenteilung im Rechtsstaat. Generalklauseln sind auch in zahlreichen Gebieten des Völkerrechts verbreitet, etwa als Ausnahmetatbestände im WTO-Recht oder in Gestalt der bona fides. Der Aufsatz überträgt die Kritik Franz Neumanns aus dem nationalstaatlichen Kontext auf die horizontal strukturierte Völkerrechtsordnung. Während einige Kritikpunkte aufgrund der Unterschiede beider Rechtssysteme nicht übertragbar sind oder einer Modifikation bedürfen, muss auch im Völkerrecht die Politisierung des Rechts durch Generalklauseln kritisiert werden.
Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the Rescue Aid Society: Imagining the UN Through Disney’s The Rescuers

Paul Philipp Stewens

Oct 2022

Blog
Pardoning War Criminals: The Trump Administration, the Duty to Prosecute, and the Duty to Protect Human Rights

Paul Philipp Stewens

IFHV Working Paper Series, Oct 2022

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During former U.S. President Trump’s last months in office, one rather prominent issue among the numerous controversies surrounding the presidency was the use of the presidential pardon. Especially the seven pardons for military service members and private contractors charged with or convicted of homicide during U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan sparked criticism. This paper assesses the pardon’s conformity with the duty to prosecute grave violations of international humanitarian law, i.e., grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and war crimes under customary international law. Besides, it considers whether the pardons were compatible with a duty to prosecute serious human rights violations as an emanation from the duty to protect human rights, particularly the right to life. The analysis finds that most of the pardons represent a failure to appropriately punish human rights offenders, while all of them undermine the deterrent effect of criminal prosecution and weaken respect for international humanitarian law. The U.S. hence violates its international legal obligations.

2021

Burmese Amber: Palaeontology’s Blood Diamonds Through the Lens of International Law

Paul Philipp Stewens

Jun 2021

DOI Blog
Now or Never: The Arms Trade Treaty at Crossroads

Paul Philipp Stewens

May 2021

DOI Blog
Is Your Dating App Swiping Left on Human Rights?

Spyridoula Katsoni, and Paul Philipp Stewens

Dec 2021

DOI Blog