Important Step to Statehood? Croatia Appeals Court Rules in Favour of Liberland

Dismissed as a joke by many, could the judgements of the appeals courts in Croatia be an important step in Liberland's quest for sovereignty?

It really is one of the most unusual stories of the last 12 months, but as Liberland Press reported on May 2, 2016, the decisions of some judges in the Croatian court of appeal have added one more segment to the fascinating story of the self-proclaimed state of Liberland, a 7km marshy land mass on the banks of the Danube between Croatia and Serbia.  

Rather than dismiss this as a joke, let's look at the best map to explain how the proclamation of Liberland came into being.

War in the former Yugoslavia ended in 1995. A temporary border, down the middle of the Danube was put in place. This suited Serbia, which had everything to the right of the river, but not Croatia, which wanted the border to reflect the 19th century catastar maps, when the Danube flowed differently. As you can see from the map above, the yellow pockets are far greater than the green pocket (Liberland), and Croatia is holding out for a greater territorial prize. Serbia has stated that it has no territorial aspirations on the other side of the river, and Croatia does not want to claim the green area on the map, as by doing so, it would forfeit claims on the bigger yellow prizes across the river. 'Terra Nullius', declared Czech citizen Vit Jedlicka in April last year, and he nipped in, planted a flag and claimed the country as his own, attracting global international attention in the process.  

Far from being a publicity stunt, the Liberland project is moving forward, and an admittedly rather surreal Liberland Conference to mark the first anniversary of the country showed how far the thinking and planning had come.  

Croatia's reaction to its new self-proclaimed neighbour has been less than friendly. President Jedlicka himself has been arrested twice and given overnight accommodation in a Croatian jail for his troubles, as the Croatian police try to prevent anyone entering the territory called Liberland by some. The president is grateful for this for two reasons - it is a de facto acknowledgement by Croatia that a border does exist, and Croatia is providing security to Liberland, so that no undesirables can enter... 

And this is where it gets interesting... 

The official map above is of the official borders of Croatia. The big white patch is outside Croatia, and Jedlicka calls it Liberland. Croatian police boats have been patrolling the Danube to prevent people entering the territory, and several have been arrested by the Croatian authorities for leaving Serbia and entering a territory not claimed by Croatia, then taken to Croatian jails. Technically one could argue that this is kidnapping, but it is a very curious state of affairs that a country which does not claim a territory can arrest someone entering that territory from a different sovereign state (Serbia). 

It would appear that the appeals court in Croatia agrees. Of four cases prosecuted by Croatia for illegal entry, Liberland lawyers appealed, and won three of the four cases. The three were cases of people entering Liberland from Serbia (and so nothing to do with Croatian borders), the one which was refused was someone entering Liberland from Croatia, but not via a regular border crossing. According to Liberland Press:

"In three other remarkable decisions by the high Croatian courts, Liberland won three additional retrials as the judges consistently agreed that the lower courts “committed essential procedural violations” and noted in all of the cases that the prosecutors “incorrectly and incompletely established the facts.” In these three decisions, the high courts not only ordered retrials, they also ordered the lower courts to rule on the exact location of the border. This is significant not only for Liberland and its supporters but also Liberland’s regional neighbors Croatia and Serbia who have debated the location of the border for the last 25 years."

Croatia has tried to dismiss Liberland as an impossibility, but these verdicts change the story slightly - and perhaps significantly - on the ground. TCN caught up with President Jedlicka for his reaction:

"Consolidation of national legal efforts is an important part of process. We have some 800 lawyers who have applied for citizenship. It is important to stress that these rulings are in favor of both Liberland and Croatia." On the police boat presence in the Danube between Serbia and Liberland:

"We appreciate the presence and protection of Liberland by Croatia police."

A story to be continued... Read the original article in full.