International legislation

- The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, held in Montego Bay in 1982, set out in Article 2 that state sovereignty is exerted on the water column, seabed and subsoil as well as the natural resources and the airspace over it. Salto de línea Article 149 refers specifically to archaeological and historical objects found in the Area, which should be preserved or disposed of for the benefit of mankind as a whole, with particular regard being paid to the preferential rights of the State or country of origin, or the State of cultural origin, or the State of historical and Salto de línea archaeological origin. With regard to these objects, Article 303 sets out the following:Salto de línea "1. States have the duty to protect objects of an archaeological and historical nature found at sea and shall cooperate for this purpose.Salto de línea 2. In order to control traffic in such objects, the coastal State may, in applying Article 33, presume that their removal from the seabed in the zone referred to in that article without its approval would result in an infringement within its territory or territorial sea of the laws and regulations referred to in that article.Salto de línea 3. Nothing in this article affects the rights of identifiable owners, the law of salvage or other rules of admiralty, or laws and practices with respect to cultural exchanges.Salto de línea 4. This article is without prejudice to other international agreements and rules of international law regarding the protection of objects of an archaeological and historical nature."

- The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was ratified by Spain in 1997.Salto de línea The Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of Europe (Valletta, 1992) was ratified by Spain in 2011. Articles 1 and 2, which refer to the definition, identification and protection of archaeological heritage, considers elements of archaeological heritage to be all remains and objects and any other traces of mankind from past epochs which are located in any area within the jurisdiction of the Parties, including those found under water.

Salto de línea - The Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris in October 2001, aims to ensure the effective protection of underwater cultural heritage and preserve it for the benefit of future generations. The Convention establishes the general framework for action via a set of basic principles that must be universally respected, among which are: the non-commercialisation of the property found; its legal protection; the inalterability of underwater cultural heritage; the obligation to conserve it, with its in-situ preservation as the preferred option; the scientific treatment of the discoveries; and collaboration and cooperation among countries. Salto de línea Today forty-two countries have ratified this Convention. Spain ratified the Convention in 2005.