Abstract
On 2 January 2009 the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (CPUCH; Paris, 2001) entered into force for the first 20 States that decided to become parties to it. The CPUCH can be seen as a reasonable defence against the disastrous regime on underwater cultural heritage set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS; Montego Bay, 1982). In fact, the UNCLOS allows for a “freedom-of-fishing” regime where a State which has a cultural link with the objects cannot prevent the pillage of its historical heritage. The picture is worsened by the reference in the UNCLOS to “the law of salvage and other rules of admiralty” which have been intended by United States courts as meaning the application of a first-come-first-served approach in many cases relating to the underwater cultural heritage. The basic defensive tools included in the CPUCH are the elimination of the undesirable effects of the law of salvage and finds, the exclusion of a first-come-first-served approach for the heritage found on the continental shelf, and the strengthening of regional cooperation.
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