Quote:
Originally Posted by Schroeder
A lot of that stuff were personal belongings of the passengers/crew. Can that actually be auctioned? Isn't that the same as opening graves and loot the stuff in there?  |
A very good question and the answer depends on whether two decisions were previously made.
1. If the passenger/crew's estates were settled by insurance, then any belongings would then be "owned" the insuring body.
2. If the insuring body had declared that these items were derelict, which is a legal state, then anything recovered is legally the property of the recovering body. If so, they can be sold.
This is from a legal viewpoint. The question whether it is morally right to sell this stuff is a completely different issue.
In answer to your question is this the same as opening a grave and looting? No. Items in a grave are not declared derelict (or whatever the land legal term is) and therefore would not be the property of who ever loots them. This is one of the differences between recovery and looting.