Polity Atlas
Article

Micronations: A Lacuna in the Law

Harry Hobbs; George Williams · International Journal of Constitutional Law 19(1), 71–97 · 2021

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Type
Article
Author
Harry Hobbs; George Williams
Identifier
DOI 10.1093/icon/moab020
Accessed
2026-09-01
Reliability notes
Open-access accepted manuscript: https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/148342

Claims citing this source

3 claims
EstablishedIn 1967 Paddy Roy Bates took over Roughs Tower, a decommissioned naval fort about seven miles off the Suffolk coast, and on 2 September 1967 declared the Principality of Sealand; the Territorial Sea Act 1987 later set the breadth of the UK territorial sea at twelve nautical miles.EstablishedLeonard Casley served a notice of secession for Hutt River in Western Australia on 21 April 1970 after a dispute over wheat quotas; Australian courts repeatedly held its claim to be outside Australian tax law unarguable, and in August 2020 his son announced that the family farm would be sold to pay a A$3 million tax bill.EstablishedMicronations lack a foundation in domestic or international law and are rarely recognised as nations; the most commonly used definition of statehood, Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention, requires a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and capacity to enter into relations with other states.