The Spanish estate agent acting for the self-proclaimed nation
has also declared that Piratebay may not be allowed to buy it
because it has pledged not to allow a sale that would damage the
interests of or act against the UK.
Piratebay has been the focus of a burgeoning political movement
in Sweden. The server farm hosting the site was raided last year
causing popular outcry in a country where file sharing is
significantly more socially acceptable than in other European
nations. The site provides links to material that is often
downloadable without a licence or permission.
Piratebay has said that it now wants to find a location where it
can set itself up as a nation and avoid copyright laws, and has
said that it has started negotiations with the family that has long
claimed Sealand as a sovereign nation.
But Professor Robin Churchill, a lecturer in constitutional and
international law at Dundee University, says that Sealand's 1967
claim to sovereignty is absurd. "It is within 12 miles of the coast
of Britain and in 1987 the UK extended its territorial waters to 12
miles. That means that UK law applies, including the law of
copyright, which could be extended to Sealand without any legal
problems whatsoever," he said.
The man behind Sealand, former major in the British army Paddy
Roy Bates, has long claimed that his 1967 declaration of
sovereignty predates that extension, and therefore supercedes
it.
"That is complete nonsense," said Churchill. "For it to be a
state a place needs to have a proper stable population, a
functioning government and needs to be recognised by other states
and no existing other state recognises Sealand."
"Like all island countries, the Principality has actively sought
inward investment," said a Sealand statement announcing its sale.
"We have now secured the services of a Spanish property broker who
will act on our behalf to seek significant inward investment here
in the Principality by way of either purchase or long-term
lease."
The Spanish estate agent acting for Sealand in the sale says
that it cannot be sold as such because its occupiers claim that it
is a principality. The transfer fee, though, is set at
£504,000.
The team behind Piratebay has expressed its interest. "We want
to buy Sealand. Donate money and you will become a citizien," said
a statement on Buysealand.com, a Piratebay website. "The Government
of Sealand has initiated negotiation. Tomorrow, the ACFI
[Piratebay] and Government of Sealand will sit down to discuss the
future of the micronation."
Piratebay has asked for donations to fund its purchase, but that
money could be wasted if Churchill's view of the structure's legal
status is correct. "There is nothing in international law to stop
the UK enforcing its law there," he said.
The estate agent, InmoNaranja, has said that Piratebay may not
be allowed to buy Sealand. "We might not be able to sell to them,
since one of the conditions imposed by the actual occupants of
Sealand is that none of the activities to be carried out on Sealand
should be an action against the UK, and potentially this group does
not comply with this condition," said a statement from InmoNaranja.
"The final decision lies with the current representatives of
Sealand at the time of seeing the purchaser's proposal."
Bates has always claimed that a 1968 English court judgment
which said that it had no jurisdiction over the ex-anti aircraft
installation validated its claims for legitimacy and international
recognition. He also argues that contact with Sealand made by a
German diplomat over the holding of a German national on the
installation constituted diplomatic recognition of its nation
status. Legal experts, though, have argued that those incidents are
unlikely to be enough to justify the declaration of nationhood
which Bates and his family claim.
Piratebay has said that if it fails to buy Sealand it will buy a
very small island instead and attempt to assert nationhood there.
It says prices for islands start at around $50,000.
