Liberland

Location

Since the Yugoslav Wars, some borderland territories between Serbia and Croatia have been disputed, such as the Island of Vukovar and the Island of Šarengrad; multiple news sources have reported that both Serbia and Croatia claim ownership of the land Jedlička has targeted. Jedlička, however, says that the land he has claimed, known as Gornja Siga (meaning upper tufa), was not claimed by either side.

Spanning approximately 7 square kilometres (2.7 square miles), the region is predominantly forested and uninhabited. During a visit in April 2015, a journalist from Parlamentní listy discovered an abandoned house, which local people estimated had been vacant for around thirty years. It was also noted that the road leading to this area was in poor condition.

The Danube river, an international waterway with free access to the Black Sea for several landlocked nations, runs along the self-proclaimed territory.

Proclamation

The flag raising in Gornja Siga was performed by Vít Jedlička and some of his associates on the same day the republic was proclaimed. The flag consists of a yellow backdrop (symbolizing libertarianism) with a black stripe running horizontally through the centre (symbolizing anarchy/rebellion) and the coat of arms in the centre. Jedlička is a member of the Czech Party of Free Citizens, which bases its values on the classical liberal ideology.

Jedlička stated that neither Serbia, Croatia nor any other nation claims the land as its own (terra nullius). The border, he argued, was defined in accordance with Croatian and Serbian border claims and did not interfere with any other state's sovereignty. Jedlička said in April 2015 that an official diplomatic note would be sent to both Croatia and Serbia, and later to all other states, with a formal request for international recognition.

On 18 December 2015, Jedlička held an event at which he presented the first provisional government of Liberland and its ministers of finance, foreign affairs, interior and justice as well as two vice presidents.

Reactions

Legal experts in both Serbia and Croatia have said that, under international law, Jedlička lacks the right to claim the area, which is currently the subject of a dispute between the two nations. Journalists have been uncertain as to how serious Jedlička is about his claims, with some calling it a publicity stunt.

In an interview with Parlamentní Listy in April 2015, Jedlička claimed that he had received positive reactions for his initiative, mainly from his own party, the Party of Free Citizens, but also from some members of the Civic Democratic Party and the Pirate Party.

Dominik Stroukal from the Czech-Slovak branch of the Ludwig von Mises Institute wrote: "The escapade succeeded for Vít. The whole world reports about Liberland with words like 'tax competition', 'libertarianism', etc."

Goran Vojković, professor of law and columnist from the Croatian news portal Index.hr, described Liberland as a "circus which threatens Croatian territory", and argued that there was a risk that Croatia's claim to control land on the other side of the Danube may be weakened by the attention that the Liberland project has drawn to the border dispute.

An article in Chicago Journal of International Law, the law review of the University of Chicago Law School, examined Liberland's claim to statehood in light of the criteria laid out by the Montevideo Convention and the fact that neither Croatia nor Serbia claim the territory. According to the article, "Croatia’s insistence that Liberland is part of Serbia could constitute a renunciation of Croatia’s legal rights to Liberland. Conversely, if the territory that Liberland claims as its own is Serbian, the Serbian government’s renunciation of its title to that land could also be a quitclaim that would transform the legal status of the land to terra nullius. In both instances, the territory would belong to the first entity—in this case Liberland— to claim it.”

Liberland is a curious case because, in principle, none of the actors that could claim control over it seems interested in doing so. But this will probably remain a curiosity with negligible consequences at the international level. For the rest of the world's disputed territories, violence and diplomacy will remain the main tools to claim ownership.

University lecture

On 20 April, Jedlička delivered a lecture at the Prague School of Economics, titled "Liberland – how a state is born" (Czech: Liberland – jak vzniká stát). He discussed various aspects of the project and the interest it has attracted around the world. One topic that he brought up was the Montevideo Convention; he explained how Liberland was getting closer to satisfying the principles of the convention, which is commonly used to define a state. At the time of the lecture, the Liberland project had assigned ten people to the task of handling foreign relations—people who were reportedly willing to establish residency in the territory.

Other topics covered in the lecture included the concept of voluntary taxation and how the large number of citizenship applications had made it necessary to restructure the citizenship process to be more effective, since it was only based on an e-mail account. A plan to organize some type of event where everything is sold tax-free was mentioned, and Jedlička submitted that Croatia would not be able to prosecute them because the country had stated that the area is not within its jurisdiction.

Access

Croatian authorities have frequently blocked access to the area since the beginning of May 2015. Vít Jedlička was twice detained for less than a day by Croatian authorities in the same month.

Croatia has deployed police units to prevent Liberland staff and supporters from reaching the area.

Initially, Czech reporters were able to enter the area with Jedlička. A team of journalists from the Serbian public broadcast service Radio Television of Vojvodina attempted to visit the area to make a news report. They reported that the Croatian border police denied them access without providing any clear explanation, and told them the flag had been taken down.

A Bosnian group of journalists from Dnevni Avaz who attempted to visit the area were told by Croatian police that Croatia enforces a fine of kn 2,500 for those that enter the zone near the border with a car. They borrowed bicycles from a local, but as they attempted to reach the area again, they met another patrol, and they couldn't continue past the border gate.

In May 2015, Vít Jedlička and his translator Sven Sambunjak were shortly detained by Croatian police after making an attempt to cross the border. Jedlička spent one night in detention and then was convicted and ordered to pay a fine for illegal crossing of the Croatian border but appealed the verdict. He claimed that there were at least three Liberland citizens inside the area, who came from Switzerland. He didn't view the arrest as something negative, but rather as an opportunity to discuss politics and get insights on the thoughts among those who work for the Croatian police and government. According to Jedlička, the police officers were friendly and curious about the project.

A few days after his detention, six other people (from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, and the US) were detained and fined. A complaint to the Danish Embassy in Zagreb was made because they allege they were prevented from contacting anyone during the apprehension and detention. Their goal, under the auspices of the Swiss non-profit organization Liberland Settlement Association, was to settle the disputed area.

According to the Liberland website, Jedlička and 10 other people were detained again 16 May 2015 by Croatian police. Jedlička was released after a court hearing 17 May 2015.

Croatian police have continued detaining anyone that entered the area. On 13 June 4 people who managed to land there were detained for illegal border crossing by boat. According to the Liberland Settlement Corporation, they were released 14 June.

On 18 June 2015, Danish activist Ulrik Grøssel Haagensen accessed the area via a small boat and was followed onto the land by Croatian police. Haagensen attempted to claim he had the right to access the land, but was placed under arrest and dragged off the land and into a Croatian police vessel. The incident was caught on video. Jedlička stated that he intends to attempt bringing Croatia to court for crossing an international border and invading Liberland.

Other activities

There is an ongoing initiative to organize an association football team that represents Liberland in Non-FIFA international football. Pavel Kosík, trainer and organizer, states that he aims for the 2018 tournament, because he doesn't think that his team will be ready in time for the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup in Abkhazia, a partially recognized state whose territory is claimed by Georgia.

Settlement

On the 20th of February 2017, Liberlanders raised their flag over the sole building in Liberland, marking their permanent presence in the area. Liberland settlers have not encountered any presence of Croatian police inside of the territory of Liberland and have established a permanent population as of February 2017.

Legality

Some legal experts in both Serbia and Croatia maintain that Jedlička's claims lack legal basis, and multiple sources have reported that both Serbia and Croatia dispute ownership of the land Jedlička has targeted. Croatia and Serbia have dismissed Jedlička's claims as frivolous, although the two countries have reacted in different ways. On 24 April 2015, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that although they consider the affair to be a trivial matter, the "new state" does not impinge upon the Serbian border, which is delineated by the Danube River. Croatia, who currently administers the land in question, has stated that after international arbitration, it should be awarded to Croatia or Serbia, not to a third party. In 2016 an article in the Chicago Journal of International Law argued that Croatia's insistence that Liberland is a part of Serbia combined with Serbia's renunciation of its title to the land has transformed the legal status of the land to terra nullius. Therefore, according to the journal, because Liberland was the first entity to claim it the territory belongs to Liberland.

Several appeals court decisions from Croatia were published in early May 2016 stating that the lower court's convictions of illegal border crossings into Liberland were incorrect. Specifically, the court ruled that crossing into Liberland from Croatia is indeed an illegal border crossing, but the convictions for entering Liberland from Serbia were improper. The court said that the lower court "committed a fundamental breach of misdemeanor proceedings" and "committed essential procedural violations". It further ruled that "the facts were incorrectly and incompletely established [by the prosecutor] which could lead to misapplication of substantive law". A retrial was ordered for 6 of the 7 appeals in which the lower courts will be required to "determine where the border is and where the border crossing is". The 7th appeal was for crossing into Liberland from Croatia, which the court upheld.

Citizenship

According to the official website, only communists, neonazis, and other extremists are ineligible for citizenship. According to The Guardian (UK), it has received 200,000 applications for citizenship in a week. In the beginning of May 2015, Liberland issued the first citizenships, which amounted to around thirty. The event was supposed to take place in Liberland, but Croatian border police stopped the group from entering the territory from the Croatian side. There was also an attempt to cross the river with fishing boats from the Serbian side, but it failed because the local fishermen didn't have permits for transporting people with their boats. Furthermore, Serbian police informed Jedlička that those who try to perform illegal border crossings will be arrested. An improvised ceremony was instead held in Bački Monoštor. At the same time, Jedlička organized plans for another attempt, based on travelling all the way from the Czech Republic to Liberland on the Danube river (which is an international waterway).

A draft version of a proposed constitution has been written and revised several times. The main author is Kacper Zajac, with contributions provided by others on GitHub. The constitution consists of four articles: Bill of Rights, The Legislative Power, The Executive Power, and The Judicial Power.

Recognition

There has been no diplomatic recognition of Liberland as of yet by any country with membership in the United Nations.

Official statements from states

Official statements from political parties

Statements from other micronation projects

Representative offices

Liberland has representative offices throughout the world. Their locations include Belgrade, Berlin, Caracas, Istanbul, Kamnik, Paris, Pasig and Prague, among others.

In Berlin, the president and head of Liberland's representation is Christian Jacken, a member of the eurosceptic, anti-immigration and right-wing populist political party Alternative for Germany.