[meteorite-list] Fwd: Lorton meteorite should be 'the people's rock'

From: Martin Altmann <altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:38:52 +0100
Message-ID: <004101caa681$b4393340$07b22959_at_name86d88d87e2>

Hello Shawn,

this article from McEwen, Schmitt et al. you linked,
is not very useful,
as it gives no authoritative orientation in the question of the ownership of
meteorites;

Because it is an interpretation of the convention, which might be somewhat
far-fetched, of a few individuals. It reflects an opinion and is not a norm.

Google for the fulltext of the UNESCO convention of 1970 and for the
following UNIDROIT convention.

We had it here already on the list.

It is relatively clear, what the conventions says.
(Meteorites btw. aren't mentioned there at all).

Meteorites per se do not meet the definition of "heritage" given in the
conventions.

There is only one exception given in the convention, which allows to protect
a meteorite indeed as a cultural heritage:

The meteorite has to be part of a scientific collection
(or has to be the result of an official scientific expedition)
only then it can be protected, cause then it has the necessary cultural
meaning.

Therefore a new fall, a desert find, hence stones mankind had no contact
with,
or to the extreme: an unfound meteorite,
cannot be a cultural heritage in terms of the UNESCO convention.

Aim of the sentence there with the minerals in collection, the only one,
which applies to meteorites,
was, to avoid, that museums collections or scientific collections or parts
of them would be trafficked or leaving the countries.

Secondly, there are formal requirements, for the UNESCO convention becoming
effective at all, which are also given there.

The convention has to be ratified as NATIONAL law
and each country has to create a catalogue, which lists all objects, which
shall be protected as cultural heritage.
Australia e.g. did so, and listed there meteorites (but not tektites).

While many other countries still haven't made their lists yet,
simply because they fear, that they would have to return then, so many stuff
from their museums to the countries of origin.

Again. If a country hasn't ratified the convention and if it has no list
with the items of its cultural heritage
or if it has a list, but meteorites aren't listed there,
then in this country meteorites don't fall under the UNESCO convention.

So you see, that what the papers says, that all meteorites in general fall
under the UNESCO convention - is wrong. Full Stop.

So Schmitt, McEwen et al. really have an extreme weak standing, if it goes
into details.

Btw. that what they wrote about Switzerland, that meteorites would belong
automatically to the state, seems to be wrong.
A Suisse meteoricist send me the law... there it is given in fact rather a
right of preemption for the state and the law is very vague, so that it's a
question of interpretation, whether meteorites fall under this law.


So indeed that paper has a relatively low quality, if you get to the bottom.

The problem is, that it seems the only paper about meteorite laws
and that it was published in MAPS.
Therefore it staid unquestioned
and people tend to believe, what they read there.

Best!
martin

 

-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von Shawn
Alan
Gesendet: Freitag, 5. Februar 2010 08:33
An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Betreff: [meteorite-list] Fwd: Lorton meteorite should be 'the people's
rock'

Hello Listernites
?
Here is a link about the laws of ownership on meteorites.?I had posted?it
a?few days ago, which?Ill post again because it looks like it?will be a good
reference to this topic on ownership. I hope the owner/s get a good lawyer
because it looks like the Smithsonian isn't leaving anything behind for the
public because the Smithsonian has the vacuum bag in their possession that
wasused to clean up the mess from the Lorton meteorite.
?
Shawn Alan
?
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2001/pdf/5150.pdf
?
[meteorite-list] Fwd: Lorton meteorite should be 'the people's rock'
cdtucson at cox.net cdtucson at cox.net
Thu Feb 4 23:40:08 EST 2010
Received on Fri 05 Feb 2010 11:38:52 AM PST