国务院第42号令
（Promulgated by Decree No. 42 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on October 20， 1989 and effective as of the date of promulgation）
颁布日期：19891020 　实施日期：19891020 　颁布单位：国务院

　　Article 1 These Regulations are formulated¹ in accordance with the pertinent² provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China for the Protection of Cultural Relics³ for the purpose of strengthening the administration of the work for the protection of underwater cultural relics.

　　Article 2 The term “underwater cultural relics” referred to in these Regulations denotes the human cultural heritage that has historic， artistic⁴ and scientific values and that remains⁵ in the following waters：

　　（1） all the cultural relics of Chinese origin， or of unidentified origin， or of foreign origin that remain in the Chinese inland waters and territorial⁶ waters；

　　（2） cultural relics that are of Chinese origin or of unidentified origin that remain in sea areas outside the Chinese territorial waters but under Chinese jurisdiction⁷ according to the Chinese law；

　　（3） cultural relics of Chinese origin that remain in sea areas outside the territorial waters of any foreign country but under the jurisdiction of a certain country， or in the high seas. The provisions in the preceding paragraphs shall not cover objects that have remained underwater since 1911 that have nothing to do with important historical events， revolutionary movements or renowned⁸ personages.

　　Article 3 The ownership of the underwater cultural relics specified⁹ in Paragraphs （1） and （2） of Article 2 of these Regulations shall reside in the state and the state shall exercise jurisdiction over them； with respect to underwater cultural relics specified in Paragraphs （3） of Article 2 of these Regulations， the state shall have the right to identify the owners of the objects.

　　Article 4 The State Administration for Protection of Cultural Relics shall be the competent authority in charge of the registration¹⁰ of underwater cultural relics， of the administration of the protection thereof， and of the work of examination and approval concerning the archaeological exploration and excavation¹¹ activities with respect to underwater cultural relics.

　　Administrative¹² departments for cultural relics at various levels in the localities shall be in charge of the protection of the underwater cultural relics in their respective administrative regions and shall， in conjunction with the archaeological and research institutions for cultural relics， be in charge of the work to identify and assess the value of underwater cultural relics. With respect to underwater cultural relics in sea waters， the State Administration for Protection of Cultural Relics may designate the administrative departments for cultural relics in the localities to be in charge of the administration of the work for the protection of underwater cultural relics.

　　Article 5 On the basis of the value of underwater cultural relics， the State Council and the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous¹³ regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may in accordance with the pertinent procedures specified in the provisions in Chapter II of the Law of the People's Republic of China for the Protection of Cultural Relics， determine the underwater cultural relics protection units and underwater cultural relics reserves at the national or provincial¹⁴ levels and publicly announce them. Within the limits of the underwater cultural relics protection units and underwater cultural relics reserves， any activities that may jeopardize the safety of the underwater cultural relics， such as fishing and demolitions， shall be prohibited