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Has Spain 'WON' the battle for our Cultural Heritage ?? |
| Name: |
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IMAC |
| Date Posted: |
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Dec 21, 06 - 11:47 AM |
| Website: |
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http://www.imacdigest.com/deliverance.html |
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For the sake of brevity for those following the dialogue from a previous thread- “Salvage permits denied,” and also for those who are not familiar with the controversy concerning Spain’s ‘legal’ right to own what it feels is its shipwrecks in Florida waters, we will briefly summarize the debate beginning with the final decision handed down from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2000 which gave Spain title to two shipwrecks after they had been located by an American Salvor (Sea Hunt, Inc.) with all the necessary permits to do so.
This however, raises the still unanswered question as to how this 4th Circuit deceision might affect shipwreck salvage in Florida, which is in the 11th Circuit. And if so, will the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA) be the instrument of enforcement even though they were implemented by Congress with a mandate to Protect our Cultural Heritage for us, as citizens of this Country?
Sea Hunt, Inc. v. Unidentified Vessels, Kingdom of Spain
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals _July 21, 2000
"Abandoned Shipwreck Act ("ASA"): under admiralty law, where an owner comes forward to assert ownership in a shipwreck, abandonment must be shown by express acts, thus salvor failed to prove that Spain had abandoned its naval vessels for purposes of the Abandoned Shipwreck Act where it failed to show an express abandonment by clear and convincing evidence; International Law: a standard of express abandonment is also required under the 1902 Treaty of Friendship and General Relations between the United States and Spain; the 1763 Definitive Treaty of Peace between France, Great Britain, and Spain, which ended the Seven Years War and transferred most of Spain's territories in the new world to Great Britain, does not contain clear and convincing evidence of the "express abandonment" of the Spanish naval vessels; Salvage: the salvor is not entitled to a salvage award since it is the right of the owner of any vessel to refuse unwanted salvage."
Since that decision was made in the 4th Circuit it appeared that Spain believed that they were handed a ‘blank check’ by our government to “Take Back” the shipwrecks that they had previously and expressly abandoned in Florida (http://www.imacdigest.com/spainarticle.html).
The following article by archaeologist Jim Sinclair, addresses an incident in the Florida Keys following that deceision where Spain tried to exercise its new found "clout."
http://www.imacdigest.com/deliverance.html |
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