Common Heritage Research Articles

Cultural memory as the foundation of European identity

Cultural memory plays a crucial role in the formation and consolidation of European identity. Europe’s common cultural heritage, influenced by classical antiquity, Christianity, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment, also encompasses the ethical lessons of the two world wars and the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. This study explores how shared values and traditions contribute to the sense of European belonging and cohesion. Cultural policies and contemporary initiatives that support the intercultural dialogue and strengthen the common cultural memory highlight the importance in the context of a diverse but united Europe. Addressing cultural memory based on European values such as humanism, tolerance, and democracy in the Republic of Moldova is both a challenge and an essential goal in the process of consolidating European cultural identity.

High Sea Freedoms Walking the Plank

Abstract This article examines whether and to what extent the concept of the common heritage of humankind (CHH) can be used to remedy the weaknesses of the high seas fisheries regime. Following a brief review of the circumstances in which the CHH emerged, the notion, legal status, and normative content of the concept are examined. Whether the CHH concept has been integrated into other international instruments, thus qualifying it as a general principle of law, is analysed. Subsequently, the high seas fisheries regime is examined closely to identify any existing gaps. The article then turns to the question of the applicability of the CHH as a limitation of the freedom of fishing and draw comparisons between Parts VII and XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, delineating the potential ramifications of such an application. The assessment submitted is based on a perspective sub specie legis ferendae.

Written Ladakhi and the Future of Ladakh’s Culture

This study explores Written Ladakhi and the future of Ladakh’s culture in the newly formed Union Territory of Ladakh, India. The Ladakhi language is at a critical pivotal period. Its survival in the next two generations depends directly on the introduction of the Ladakhi language in its written form in the educational system. Using written Ladakhi for real communication is the key to survival. Spoken Ladakhi is still widely used in the home and in public, as well as at formal events, All India Radio Leh, television, and millions of audio and video recordings on social media and internet sites. However, because Ladakhi is not used in schools, the next generation is likely to find other languages more suitable for daily use, and the language is on the verge of extinction. Historically, no doubt, Ladakh and several other regions of the Indian Himalayas have shared a common literary heritage with Tibet. The Ladakhi language and culture have immense potential for development: it is shared by Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and others; the culture is valued by many non-local Indians and tourists; and it houses a major monument of world literature, the Kesar Epic. Therefore, an effort is being made in the present article to highlight the existing written corpus in Ladakhi and provide some information about the differences between literary varieties present in the region, and some language policy issues facing the Ladakhi language, its survival and potential development.

Navigating Unutilized Tax Losses in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei

Many tax systems allow unutilized tax losses to be carried forward or back to a different tax basis period or transferred to a different entity in a group of companies (known as group relief). Despite sharing a common tax heritage, the tax systems of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei now treat the shifting of unutilized tax losses quite differently. This article analyses in detail the differences in tax treatment across these jurisdictions, with a focus on how their loss-shifting mechanisms operate and the safeguards implemented to protect the tax base. For example, both Singapore and Malaysia have a “shareholding test”, while Malaysia places considerable restrictions on the claiming of group relief. Notably, Singapore permits the carrying back of losses, but with such restrictive conditions that there might be little practical impact. The article considers how jurisdictions can balance making the tax system attractive to businesses while safeguarding the tax base.

Reforming Post-Arrest Bail in Pakistan: Lessons from a Comparative Study with India

This research paper presents a comparative analysis of the legal frameworks governing post-arrest bail in India and Pakistan, with a focus on the statutory provisions, judicial interpretations, and procedural safeguards that are involved. Although both states share a common legal heritage which is rooted in British colonial law, however, they have diverged in their approaches to bail, which are influenced by their respective constitutional mandates, legislative developments, and sociopolitical landscapes. This comparison is essential in order to understand how these legal systems are balancing individual rights with societal security and how judicial discretion are shaping bail in each country. For this purpose, this paper examines constitutional provisions besides main statutory provisions of the Indian and Pakistani criminal procedural laws, the role of judicial discretion and evolving jurisprudence of the post-arrest bail. This study offers insights into potential legal reforms, with an aim to enhance fairness and consistency in bail practices, through juxtaposing these principles in India and Pakistan. This study concludes that Pakistan should consider restructuring its bail procedural laws and system, and it suggests reforms taking into account the benefits of India’s progressive legal framework, to ensure consistency, fairness, and the protection of individual rights. This research also recommends future studies on balancing bail and incarceration, through focusing on judicial discretion and the application of the principle of proportionality.

Sedimentary relations: cultures of access and the matter of shallow seabed coring

Contemporary cultural geographies have increasingly addressed subterranean and deep spaces through questions of access to earthly materials and the politics of resource extraction. This article engages with these themes through an investigation into the ‘doings’ or practices of seabed access. It does so by following the embodied and material experiences of two human geographers, an artist, a scientific coordinator and a microbiologist, who together undertook a day trip to learn shallow sediment coring in the Wadden Sea mudflats of Northern Germany. Stemming from a research project concerned with the accessibility of the seabed in international waters (how society can access its ‘common heritage’), we examine how taking samples from even the most accessible type of seabed – a shallow coastal mudflat within national waters that is not covered by seawater during low tide – presents a myriad of considerations, challenges and complications. We argue these are vital in examining the cultures of access – the embodied and material limits that define and shape participation in environments in which you and I have rights. These considerations, challenges and complications ranged from physical strength and balance requirements to an understanding of tidal movements, access to simple but specific equipment, appropriate clothing and private transport. We use ethnographic reflections and our photographic engagements to consider sedimentary relations: how we can and do relate to the seabed.

The Unfree Commons: Freedom of Marine Scientific Research and the Status of Genetic Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction

Longstanding negotiations on the status of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction under a new UN treaty oscillated between the common heritage of mankind and the freedom of the high seas. The final text of the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty bridges the normative dissonance by crafting a freedom of marine scientific research juxtaposed with the common heritage of humankind. This article argues that the principle is a specific carve‐out from the freedom of scientific research in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), enumerated as one of the freedoms of the high seas. The principle of freedom of marine scientific research is best conceived as a property‐protected activity tethered to marine genetic resources where the scope and consequences of the activity demarcate the commons resource. It derives legitimacy and content from the common heritage regimes in UNCLOS as well as the operative elements of Part II of the BBNJ Treaty that address the equitable use of marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources. As such, this element in the Treaty and the explanation set out here introduces a new and unprecedented constitutionalising norm in global biodiversity governance.

The Case of the Martin Vaz Rocks and Other Brazilian Offshore Archipelagos: A Further Step Toward the “Territorialization” of the South Atlantic

Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) deals with the regime of islands, while Article 7 of UNCLOS refers to the criteria for employing straight baselines. Taking advantage of the lack of clarity concerning the distinction between “islands” and “rocks” in Article 121, and the ambiguity in Article 7 (combined with Articles 46 and 47) concerning the use of straight baselines to enclose offshore archipelagos, Brazil has changed the legal status of the Martin Vaz features from “rocks” to “islands” and enclosed them within straight baselines in order to slightly increase its maritime area. Although the impact of this initiative is rather limited, it demonstrates the willingness of the Brazilian authorities to extend the maritime area of Brazil as far as possible, even where this is inconsistent with UNCLOS and comes at the expense of the area that is subject to the common heritage of humankind, as the Martin Vaz features are typical examples of rocks. Moreover, this article argues that changing the legal status of the Martin Vaz features is not an isolated case, but part of a series of initiatives launched by Brazil toward the “territorialization” of the South Atlantic ever since UNCLOS has entered into force.

Genetic diversity and origin of Kazakh Tobet Dogs

The Kazakh Tobet is an indigenous Kazakh dog breed that has been used to guard livestock since ancient times. To understand the genetic structure and phylogenetic relationship of the Kazakh Tobet breed with other herding and livestock guarding dog breeds, we analysed short tandem repeat data of 107 Kazakh Tobet dogs from different regions of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as whole genome sequencing data from two Kazakh Tobet dogs and 43 dogs from 24 working breeds. Our results indicate a high genetic diversity of the Kazakh Tobet, with the average number of alleles per locus ranging from 6.00 to 10.22 and observed heterozygosity ranging from 76 to 78%. The breed has a complex genetic structure characterised by seven different clusters. The neighbour-joining tree constructed based on 14,668,406 autosomal and the maximum likelihood tree based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences indicate a common genetic heritage between the Kazakh Tobet, the Central Asian Shepherd Dog and the Turkish Akbash. The presence of haplotype A18 in the Kazakh Tobets supports the hypothesis of the ancient origin of the breed, which was previously suggested by archaeological finds and written sources. These results provide an important genetic basis for the ongoing efforts to improve the Kazakh Tobet breed, to ensure its preservation as an independent genetic lineage and to recognise a breed on an international level.

Humanistic place leadership, cultural enhancement, and change in industrial districts

Drawing inspiration from the works of Fiorenza Belussi on multiple paths of development in local productive systems, the essay contributes to the ongoing debate on factors facilitating such transformations, focusing primarily on industrial districts (IDs) as open learning systems. With specific reference to the Italian context, this paper recalls the delicate balance between socio-cultural and economic elements within IDs transitioning towards new paths of development, crucial for facing the current technological and societal challenges. e essay proposes to look at the possible diffusion of humanistic management (HM) and cultural enhancement of economic strategies, as new triggering factors against lock-in conditions and tendencies toward degradation during phases of ID transformation. HM prioritizes the well-being of individuals and ethical decision-making, aligning with a broader societal purpose. Cultural enhancement, rooted in a common heritage, supports place identity, and suggests bases for multiple specializations. e convergence of HM and cultural enhancement within IDs may offer to renewed place-leaderships levers for strategies of transition pointing to sustainable paths that align with broader societal goals in an era of disrupting challenges.

Reconstruction of Civil Law Systems and the Law of Obligations under the English Common Law Heritage

The central theme of this research is to illuminate the role of judicial precedents in the reconstruction of civil law legal systems around the world. Consistent with this pursuit and analysis it will be essential to explore the historical background that underpins the role of judicial precedents in civil legal systems. There are significant differences between civil and common law jurisdictions. Thus evidence will be presented to show that judges have found precedents to be persuasive when adjudicating similar cases. This research will also juxtapose the role judicial precedents against the backdrop of the doctrine of Juris Constantein the development of civil law legal systems.

UNESCO, mining heritage and the scalar sustainability of tourism geographies at industrial World Heritage Sites

PurposeIndustrial heritage works within a world of contradictions, contentions and scalar liminality. Archaeologists and historians focus upon oral histories and discourses of tangible and intangible memory and heritage while planners and economists see industrial World Heritage, in particular, as a marketing ploy to redevelop deindustrialized spaces. Within this liminality, we explore the potential for geographical perspectives to solder such contradictions into transdisciplinary heritage assessments and tourism contexts. How might the spatial tools of landscape and scalar analyses expose alternative and sustainable futures within broader patterns of industrial heritage management and consumption?Design/methodology/approachUsing three comparative cases, interview and landscape methods and conducting discourse analysis within a spatial and scalar framework, we explore the increasing presence of industrial World Heritage.FindingsWe present both an institutional reflection upon the complexities of heritage discourse across complex spatial configurations and the intersectional historical, cultural, political, environmental and economic geographies that guide and emerge out of World Heritage Designations. Framed scalarly and spatially, we highlight common interpretation, tourism and heritage management styles and concerns found across industrial World Heritage. We point out trans-scalar considerations for future municipalities and regions looking to utilize their industrial landscapes and narratives.Originality/valueWe believe that more theoretical groundings in space and scale may lead to both the flexibility and the applicability needed to assess and, in turn, manage trans-scalar and trans-spatial complex heritage sites. These perspectives may be uniquely poised to assess the complex geographies of industrial, particularly mining, World Heritage Sites.

Economic Valuation of Nature’s Contributions in the Antarctic: Extension of the Nature’s Contributions to People Conceptual Framework

The Antarctic region harbors abundant natural resources that constitute a common heritage site for humankind. However, given climate change and global resource scarcity, natural resource management has emerged as a pivotal issue in Antarctic governance. Assessing the value of natural resources is fundamental and crucial for ensuring their sustainable utilization and conservation. This study attempted to promote decision-makers’ understanding of the Antarctic using nature’s contribution to people (NCP) and provide an evaluation of the value of natural resources in the Antarctic, thereby contributing to sustainable global development. It developed a conceptual framework for evaluating natural resource values in the NCP, which includes scope delimitation, type identification, and value assessment. Economic value assessments were conducted for key NCPs in Antarctica. Based on existing biological, physical, and economic data, our initial estimates indicate that the economic value of the realized NCP is approximately 2.46 trillion CNY, with regulating NCP accounting for roughly 70% of the total value. If the potential NCP in the Antarctic were realized at foreseeable scientific and technological levels, the total economic value would reach approximately 105.62 trillion CNY. Regulating NCP accounted for most of the total value, but material NCP accounted for more than 20%. Overall, the development of natural resources and environmental protection are two sides of the same coin in the Antarctic, and there may be trade-offs between different NCPs. With increasing human activity, many NCP may be lost in the Antarctic region. This study develops a new perspective on the valuation of nature’s contributions to the Antarctic. The evaluation results can provide scientific evidence for decision-making and management of the development and utilization of natural resources in the Antarctic.

Ghãtu: Femininity and Indigenous Aesthetics

Ghãtu is a cultural capital that explores the esteem of femininity and Indigenous aesthetics. Despite its aesthetic value, the main theme is sati custom, the over-exploitation of females. This tribal festival does not only belong to Gurung or Magar. Its horizon is up to Tamang, Dura, Darai, Baram and Aryal Kshetri in central and mid-western Nepal. All of them observe with almost similar methods and rituals. Except for Aryal Kshetri, other Indigenous groups claim that it is their hereditical cultural activity. The slow-motion meditative trance dance and melodious verses of songs represent the aesthetic beauty of Nepali folk music and folklore. The study concerns why ethnic groups adopted Ghãtu and the significance of implications of this cultural activity. The ethnic groups adopted it for its zeal for music. The study's implication is to internalize this folk dance as a source of social integration, human relations, teamwork, music and folk literature, and a goldmine of cultural studies research works. Now, Ghãtu is a common cultural capital and a central stone of indigenous aesthetics and cultural studies. This study aims to project how this cultural activity represents a common cultural heritage like the Chhath festival. The findings of the study show that maintaining integral human relations is impossible until or unless society respects femininity and cultural values. So, culture, language, rites and rituals, and dresses are common, if the mass accepts it. Gender discrimination is another focal point, and there has not been research on how Ghãtu has been the archive and cultural heritage. The study employs document analysis and feminist theories.

Space and the return of Rome

Rapid development and increased human impact in outer space has necessitated space sustainability strategies. To protect the continued use of outer space and celestial bodies, policy makers and scholars have proposed and attempted to manage the domain through a variety of mechanisms e.g. treaty formulation, cooperative engagement/assertion, adherence to the Common Heritage of Mankind principle (CHM) and International Law. However, despite nearly 65 years of space activity, questions about how the domain is defined and how sovereignty is applied remain, with commonly used terms being controversial and imprecise. By examining fundamental concepts and early legal principles applied to modern shared resources, we can better understand both the essential attributes and development of the space domain. We assert that the principles of res nullius and res communis can be used to both define shared resource domains and measure their operational development. We understand these principles not as distinct categories, but as a continuum, upon which all shared resource domains lie, thus presenting an alternative framework for describing the shared domain.

The Common Heritage of Mankind and the Rights of Future Generations in Outer Space Exploration: The Ethical Frontier

This article explores the ethical frontiers of outer space exploration, focusing on the common heritage of mankind and the rights of future generations. It delves into the historical evolution of international space law, examines key treaties and agreements, and applies Elinor Ostrom's principles of resource management to space governance. The article emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations, such as the rights of future generations, and provides a comparative analysis of different ethical theories relevant to space exploration. By integrating stakeholder perspectives, including those of non-space-faring nations and private companies, the article proposes new governance models for the sustainable and equitable management of outer space resources. The findings suggest that a balanced approach, considering diverse viewpoints and ethical implications, is crucial for the future of space exploration.

Traditional Food as Cultural Heritage in Hungary

AbstractFood culture has played, and continues to play, an important role in the definition of identity and community cohesion. Food is not just a matter of sustenance but is also a cultural element with myriad links to the material world and to festive and everyday customs. Meals and individual dishes also function as mediators, providing a means and a channel of communication. Local communities select, reconstruct, or construct their common food heritage through their social discourse on the past, belonging, and locality. This paper presents the institutional framework for the management, preservation, and transmission of food-related traditions at the national and local levels in Hungary and looks at the practice of heritagization through one specific local example.

Biodiversity, Challenges and Opportunities: A Way Forward

Biodiversity can be defined as the variability among the living organism from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they are part, this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystem. The growing awareness that biodiversity is a precious global asset to present and future generation and that species survival and the integrity of habitats and ecosystems are at serious risk, has increased significantly the importance of biodiversity related research. The loss of biodiversity is a global crisis, there is hardly an region on the earth that is not facing ecological catastrophes. Of the 1.7 million species known to inhabit the earth (Human is just one of them), one third to one fourthvof the species is likely to extinct within the next few decades. Therefore, onus of safeguarding biodiversity is not just on government or indigenous communities, but on all of us as this is our common heritage.

Environmental policy in rural development management involving territorial partnerships

Motives: Local authorities are seeking new approaches to development, with a strong emphasis on multifunctional development. Taking into account the state of the natural environment, they need to implement various activities that effectively reduce anthropogenic pressure. Poland’s membership in the EU requires the implementation of the European Green Deal. The neighbouring Polish and Ukrainian regions of Lublin and Lviv, which share similar environmental conditions and a common cultural heritage, were chosen for this study. The Polish border regions have the potential to serve as an important model for Ukrainian border regions as they strive to integrate into the European Union. This paper provides an overview of development and environmental support policies, as well as in-depth case studies, to establish a basis for assessing the sustainable functioning of rural municipalities and territorial partnerships. Aim: This study examined supra-local strategic documents concerning environmental protection and rural development in Polish and Ukrainian municipalities. Their socio-economic situation was characterised, and the goals and activities proposed under their environmental protection programmes and local development strategies were identified. Results: Based on the research findings, a proposal was formulated for implementing systemic solutions in the development of strategic plans to ensure that local strategies become fundamental tools for implementing measures that support environmental protection and sustainable development.

Dissenter Diplomacy: Sub-Diplomatic Efforts in the Making of the Anglo-American Alliance, 1850–1918

ABSTRACT This article considers the efforts of sub-diplomatic actors in building the Anglo-American alliance during the long 19th century. Particular attention is given to the role of Dissenting churches, the use of common heritage, joint building projects, and trans-Atlantic tours as a form of public diplomacy in pursuit of this goal. The ‘Pilgrims’ in particular became a useful device for promoting closer Anglo-American relations – symbolising a common history and common values, civil liberties, the rule of law, and religious toleration, all in a world where these were not common. This brought British and American voices and values closer to many ordinary people, strengthening the increasingly complex and not always visible web linking Britain and the United States, creating personal relationships and group networks, together with a sense of common political values and history.