[meteorite-list] Law Of Ownership And Control Of Meteorites - A Repost

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Jul 17 14:01:20 2006
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000000400000339_at_paulinet.de>

Michael Mazur wrote:

"Does anyone know what the laws are regarding meteorites in Norway?"

I don't know but here's a repost:

MAPS 36-9, 2001, A183
Law Of Ownership And Control Of Meteorites
D.G. Schmitt, McEwen, Schmitt & Co. Barristers and Solicitors,
1615-1055 W. Georgia St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6E3R5
email: dgs_at_marinelawcanada.com

Introduction:

Increased public awareness and commerce in meteorites raises questions
about their ownership and control. This paper reviews the law in several
countries, international law, and considers laws to bring finds to the
research community quickly and not divert them to a black market.
A survey was made of scientists involved in meteorite acquisition in over
20 countries, to determine how well various systems work.
Ownership is determined by the law of the place of the find. Legal regimes
range from a free market, to deemed state ownership with no compensation to
finders. A free market gives an incentive to searchers but allows ownership
by private collectors who do not curate specimens scientifically.
Confiscatory laws tempt searchers to conceal or sell finds illegally, or
misrepresent strewn field data. Scientists expressed diverging views on an
ideal system.

Historical Background:

Meteorite ownership law is nonuniform. English common law, from which
the law in former British colonies including the United States evolved,
provides that meteorites are the landowner's property; buried meteorites
might be part of the mineral rights. Find reporting is not mandatory.
Most Western European countries, and former colonies, have civil codes
providing that meteorites are owned by the landowner. Traditional legal
systems with unique rules exist, such as the Islamic Sharia.
In many countries legislation aimed at preserving archeological treasures
modifies earlier meteorite law. Federal nations may have different laws in
each state. Lawyers qualified in the find jurisdiction should be consulted
for ownership opinions.

Selected Examples:

Argentina: The Chaco Province constitution declares meteorites provincial
property, imposing a duty to protect them.

Australia: Some state legislation vests ownership in state museums, prohibits
find movement except delivery to museums, and allows refunds of finder's expenses.

Canada: Meteorites are the property of the landowner and can be sold. Under
the Cultural Property Export and Import Act a Canadian find cannot be exported
without a permit from a federal Board which may impose a sixmonth delay of
permanent export during which a Canadian institution may purchase it for a
"fair" price, failing which export is allowed. Temporary export permits are
granted forthwith.

Denmark: Finds are state property, and must be surrendered to a museum,
which pays market value.

India: Meteorites are deemed owned by the Geological Survey of India,
without compensation.

Japan: The finder is the owner under the civil code.

Switzerland: Finds are owned by the state but the finder is paid
compensation not higher than the object's value.

USA: A find is owned by the landowner. A find on federal government
property is owned by the Department of the Interior but may be acquired
by the Smithsonian Institution.

UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit
Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property:

This Convention, ratified by over 90 states, provides for tracking and
retrieving from reciprocating states, cultural property including meteorites.
Ratifying states may create a permitting agency like Canada's.

Antarctic Meteorites:

The Antarctic Treaty indefinitely defers national territorial claims and
encourages cooperative scientific exploration. Article III (B) states,
"scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged
and made freely available". The Treaty does not deal with samples exported.

Meteorites are recovered only by government sponsored expeditions, and curated
by NASA in the United States, the National Institute of Polar Research in
Japan, and by EUROMET. Applications for U.S. curated samples are reviewed by
the Meteorite Working Group.

Conclusions:

Meteorite ownership law varies widely. Generally survey respondents reported
cooperation from finders, to whom some compensation was paid whether required
or not; however there were incidents of important meteorites, or find data,
being lost to science. The best system for each country depends on the
relationship between each government and its citizens. Governments should be
urged to enact workable laws appropriate to their jurisdiction to:

(1) encourage collection by providing reasonable incentives to finders,
with mandatory find reporting,

(2) create efficient export permitting systems allowing exchange
of research samples, and

(3) retrieve illegally exported meteorites under the UNESCO Convention.

Acknowledgments: All survey respondents particularly A. Bevan,
B. Hofmann, H. Haack, and H. Plotkin; G.R. Schmitt, Q.C.
 
Received on Mon 17 Jul 2006 02:00:27 PM PDT