From the side of the LSA — we are happy to announce the conclusion of almost four months of investigations into land ownership in the Liberland / Siga pocket.

An investigation performed both by our settlers on-site, as well as our legal teams in Croatia, Serbia and Austria — and volunteers all over the region and beyond.

We would like to publish our findings for the wider world to see — and to also answer the #1 question we receive on a daily basis: Who owns and/or will own the land inside Liberland?

The #2 question we receive — that of citizenship and visa, we will answer in a seperate post within the next days.

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We can now — after having received the last official documents from Croatia and Serbia, conclusively state — that there is NO land ownership, public or private, in the area known as Liberland!

The last land transactions which took place in the area was according to what information we could obtain, purchases from private persons by state owned Serbian companies (incl. Vojvodina Šume d.o.o).

Since then — and by official statement from the Sombor cadastral registry — all records have been lost / ceased to exist. This has been confirmed by the cadastral office in Beli Manastir, Croatia as well.

HISTORY

Records in Vienna proved a dead end as well — the area was indeed cadastrally managed from the Kingdom of Hungary (then part of the Austrian Hungrian Empire), but only until 1918, at which point control was transferred to the Banat, Bačka and Baranja region, which was governed by the People’s Administration from Novi Sad.

Later, it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In just the past 200 years, the Siga pocket has been under the cadastral control of no less nations than the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Hungary II, the Austrian Hungarian Empire, The Kingdom of Hungary III, Baranya, Bačka, The Autonomous province of (Serbian) Vojvodina, The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia & the Rebublic of Serbia — and some would de-facto include in this list also the Independent State of Croatia, the Republic of Croatia, Deutsches Reich, Großdeutsches Reich & the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, depending of their definitions. And there is a good chance that we missed quite a few in the list above.

It is no wonder that just about everyone, professionals as well as laymen, are confused as to the topic of Liberland jurisdiction and land ownership!

THE LAST OFFICIAL CADASTRAL REGISTRY

the last official cadastral registry was kept in Sombor with some copies in Beli Manastir, and the last official internationally recognized sovereign jurisdiction of the area belonged to the Republic of Serbia.

Both registries have returned to us the conclusive and final documentation, that none of them any longer maintain any record of private and/or public ownership in Liberland, and that the last known owners in the area was state owned Serbian companies — and they have since renounced all ownership.

One last effort from the side of the LSA will be to advertise in local newspapers and legal channels — asking individuals & families who believe they have valid land claims in the area, to step forward and be recognized, since the official cadastral records have been lost / suspended.

It is highly unlikely any such valid claims exist — but should any be found and proven, private property will naturally be fully respected by Liberland and Liberlanders alike!

Thus, we can now beyond any reasonable doubt conclude the following: Liberland is not just Terra Nullius in the sense of jurisdiction, but also in terms of land ownership!

CURRENT USE OF THE LAND

The area is currently visited by the Croatian state owned Hrvatske Sume d.o.o. Activities there include some foresting and replanting — although not much work has been registered there during 2015.

Local hunters and fishers from both sides of the Danube also frequent the area.

Supposedly — Croatian state owned companies use the area, just as Serbian state owned companies use the areas on the eastern side of the Danube, areas which are currently under dispute.

It is safe to say that ownership of the land in Liberland will go to either the Croatian or Serbian state, pending resolution of the age-old dispute regarding the territories on the eastern side of the current Danube flow, should this dispute ever be resolved.

It is however also safe to say that Croatia, as a recent full member of the Schengen Area, for which a membership requirement is securely defined borders, chose NOT to include the Liberland land pocket, and that the area is thus, without a shadow of a doubt, Terra Nullius.

FUTURE OWNERSHIP

It is not for the LSA alone to say who will own what in a future context of Liberland. There are many stakeholders in the Liberland project, not least the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia.

While probably the largest structured organization in the Liberland movement, and although we represent all of the on-site settlers, who have been in the area since April, to clearly demonstrate that the will and intention to settle Liberland is real — interest and commitment to the project stretches well beyond our organization.

The LSA is formed to provide a structured framework for the promotion, realization and development of the Liberland project — the legal and practical work associated with the project — and to support and engage in negotiations between all primary stakeholders. We will also be submitting to the democratically elected Liberland authorities — as well as the regional authorities.

Since the LSA staked, settled and laid claim to Liberty Island in April, we have without pause repeatedly shown our determination to defend this claim, also after our settlement was cleared by authorities.

Our claim was staked, settled and announced in accordance with all accepted principles of homesteading and common law, and we maintain to this day that we legally hold claim to it — and we have to that effect had settlers without pause protesting in Croatian prisons since May.

Nevertheless, we have also come to realize that Liberland does not exist in a vacuum, and that we have a responsibility towards other stakeholders to see their interests equally accommodated.

We know full well that Liberland must be built with the consent of its neighbors. Liberland’s future should be based on negotiations in which all primary stakeholders participate — including those on a regional and a local level.

Thus no sale and legal transfer of ownership of any Liberland property can take place at this time — something which people should realize. No-one quite simply has the authority to do so, and doing so would be equivalent selling the Eiffel Tower to unsuspecting tourists.

That said — we would support several model along the lines of those who guarantee all key stakeholders are satisfied. An example could be:

Based on the cadastral mapping of Liberland, performed in 2015 by the Liberland movement:

1) A committee is formed from the key stakeholders, regional and Liberlandian alike — in order to approve sale of lands to individuals and/or companies, acceptable to all parties.

Clauses ensure that purchasers of real estate abide by Liberlandian development planning, which will already be taking into account any restrictions and agreements, imposed by and negotiated with the extra-Liberlandian regional authorities.

2) The land and plots are impartially evaluated at the level of local undeveloped wetlands.

3) Approved purchasers pay 125 % of the estimated value of the land/real estate which they wish to purchase, to a fund — to be released to appropriate claimant, in case the on-going land dispute between Croatia and Serbia is ever brought to conclusion — or shared between said states, in case they agree upon such.

4) Another small fee is paid towards administrative/legal costs, and towards the democratically elected Liberlandian body of authority, to contribute to the costs of providing the bare minimum of public services — and Liberland’s requirements to fulfill international obligations & safeguard its borders.

5) Care is taken that Liberlanders, engaged in the project from early days, are given right-of-purchase and at reduced costs — to reward early commitment and effort — and not to see Liberland simply sold off to those who merely held all their capital in reserve, waiting for an opportune moment.

WHERE DO I BUY MY LIBERLAND PROPERTY?

As stated above, no authority exists which has the legal right to transfer ownership of Liberland properties at this point — and no prior private ownership exists in Liberland.

Furthermore — no agreement has yet been reached between Liberlanders and regional authorities as to permit the settlement of Liberland.

In short — you cannot at present buy Liberland property! What you can do is to engage in the Liberland project, through the LSA or otherwise — and be assured that your investments in time and money will ensure that you will receive preferential treatment when the time comes to distribute land ownership.

You can also participate in the ongoing effort to buy up local properties in the area near to Liberland, either independently — or through the LSA, which has the local legal entities and legal support staff and connections to assist you.

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We hope this update made the topic of Liberland land ownership, as well as the LSA stance on this topic, quite clear to everyone. Feel free to comment and question in the commentary track below.

In our next blog post — we will be discussing the topic of citizenship, visa — which rank 2nd in most frequently asked questions.

/Liberland Settlement Association

info@liberlandsa.org

W: www.liberlandsa.org