Sealand News

On Christmas Eve 1966, Paddy Roy Bates and his family took possession of the abandoned anti-aircraft platform HM Fort Roughs. On 2 September 1967, they hoisted their own flag and declared the existence of a new state - the Principality of Sealand.

Their claims of Sovereignty over the island and its territorial waters have been ratified time after time over the intervening years by National Courts and leading international Jurists.

Sealand claims independency, based on the following propositions:

• When Paddy Roy Bates occupied Roughs Tower/HM Fort Roughs in 1967 it was located in international waters, outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and all other sovereign states. Sealand claims de jure legitimacy on this basis.
• The interactions of the UK and German governments with Sealand constitute de facto recognition. Sealand claims legitimacy on this basis.
• The decision of an English court in 1968, which stated that HM Fort Roughs was in international waters outside their jurisdiction.

According to international law, the most common schools of thought for the creation of statehood are the constitutive and declaratory theories of state creation.

In the constitutive theory, a state exists exclusively via recognition by other states. The theory splits on whether this recognition requires “diplomatic recognition” or merely “recognition of existence”. It is clear that no other state grants Sealand diplomatic recognition, but it has been argued by Prince Roy that negotiations carried out by Germany in 1978 constituted “recognition of existence”.

In the declaratory theory of statehood, an entity becomes a state when it meets the minimal criteria for statehood. Official recognition by other countries is purely “declaratory”.

On 1 October, 1987, Britain extended its territorial waters from 3 to 12 nautical miles. The previous day, Prince Roy declared the extension of Sealand’s territorial waters to be a like 12 nautical miles, so that right of way from the open sea to the Principality would not be blocked by British claimed waters. No treaty has been signed between the U. K. and Sealand to divide up the overlapping areas, but a general policy of dividing the area between the two countries down the middle can be assumed. International law does not allow the claim of new land during the extension of sea rights, so the Principality’s sovereignty was safely “grandfathered” in. Britain has no more right to Sealand’s territory than Sealand has to the territory of the British coastline that falls within its claimed 12 mile arc.

The current government of the Principality of Sealand considers itself to be sovereign, and to have been recognized de facto as such on the basis of the aforementioned statements by multiple world governments. It states the following:

“The Principality of Sealand recognizes jus gentium and has undertaken to regulate any activity with a view to compliance with jus gentium and international law or to have it regulated.”

The existence of the Principality of Sealand as an independent State and the de facto recognition of its sovereignty has been demonstrated time and time again over the last three decades by European and other States and in particular by its nearest neighbour, England. Britain has stated clearly and has demonstrated on a number of occasions either that it has no jurisdiction within Principality territorial limits or that it has no interest in events that have taken place within the Principality.

Moreover, a number of independent legal experts have weighed carefully all arguments for and against Sealand sovereignty and unanimously have agreed that jus gentium applies as a basic principle underpinning the independence of the Principality of Sealand. This position is further supported by events which demonstrate that reality. On many occasions, other countries have either left Sealand alone to deal internationally with matters critical to its National interest, or have recognised Sealand as the legal and administrative authority over all activities within its territorial limits.

In 1971, for instance, French President Pompidou recognized the Principality when he wrote Sealand a thank-you note for stamps he had received.

Even today, the United Kingdom government recognises, inter alia, residency or work in the Principality as an overseas activity.

“Of course people are not going to shout that they recognize our state,” says Princess Joan of Sealand, “but thanks to legal precedents that we established it is now clear that our sovereignty is recognized.”

“What we have done is unique and could never be done again,” states Princess Joan. “When the United Kingdom government saw what we were doing they wrote a law blocking the legal loop-hole.”