21 August 2014

Property

'Land Rights as Human Rights: The Case for a Specific Right to Land' by Jeremie Gilbert in (2013) 10(18) SUR International Journal on Human Rights comments
Land rights have received some attention as an issue concerning property rights and have been considered a specifically important right for indigenous peoples and women, but a right to land is absent from all international human rights instruments. This article reviews how land rights have been approached from five different angles under international human rights law: as an issue of property right, as a specifically important right for indigenous peoples; as an ingredient for gender equality; and as a rallying slogan against unequal access to food and housing. By examining these different approaches, the article proposes to identify the place of land rights within the international human rights instruments and jurisprudence as well as to examine why they have not been – and whether they should be - included in such documents as a stand-alone and specific right to land.
'Immunity from Seizure and Suit in Australia: The Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013' by Craig Forrest in (2014) 21(2) International Journal of Cultural Property 1 notes that
Australia has, like many other states over the past few years, introduced a statute that provides immunity from seizure for cultural objects on loan from abroad and immunity from suit for certain parties. This article explores the historical context that lead to the adoption of this statute and comprehensively explores the legislative regime, highlighting its peculiarities.