LIBERLAND MERIT SYSTEM

V 1.0 - 08/17/15


Introductory remarks


"To acquire the state powers, it is necessary and sufficient that a community or a state".

"International law", a book written by Ngyuen Quoc Dinhto, helps to understand the workings of the establishment of a state.
International laws allow, at any time, the creation of a new state, since the international community considers no total number of states. Furthermore, they admit that the existing states "can unrestrictedly transform or disappear." These are two fundamental freedoms for the United Nations.

However, the international community does not encourage the multiplication of States, fearing a "Balkanization" of the world. It is true that the creation of a State rarely happens without difficulty. The example of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s is one of the bloodiest illustrations of that.

According to the Montevideo Convention of Rights and Duties of States, only four basic ingredients are needed: population, territory, government, and permament settlement. However, the recipe is more complex. On a planet where virgin territories no longer exist, a new state can appear only in two cases:
  • After the separation of a previously colonized territory and its previous occupant;
  • By the claim of unoccupied spaces called "terra nullius".

The founding father of Liberland, Vit Jedlicka, realizing that the Serbian-Croatian border dispute left the land pocket known as "Upper Siga" on the banks of the Danube as terra nullius (no man’s and), subsequently declared the Free Republic of Liberland on this territory, April 13th 2015.

Unfortunately, no state exists in a vacuum, and there can be no state without the recognition of other states. Indeed, the legal instrument that governs the formation of a state is international recognition. This means that a state exists only through others. "It is a game of mirrors, explains Odile Perrot, PhD in Political Science and specialist of Kosovo. A game in which you must find allies before even existing. "

The recognition of a state is not automatic, everyone is free to choose in this matter. States have the right to refuse to enter into diplomatic relations with the newcomer and to ignore it completely as long as they wish. It is not uncommon to see regional powers instrumentalize the recognition of quasi-states, by indulging in all sorts of political maneuvers.

Furthermore, recognizing a state is expensive. The lack of international recognition is not always the expression of a specific political will. “The establishment of a diplomatic mission has a cost that many small countries can ill afford." Some of them are slowed down for domestic political reasons, for example Spain, due to Basque and Catalan nationalism, but many small states simply do not have the adequate resources. Diplomatic relations, paperwork, installation of an embassy, etc. generate costs. Liberland has the unique chance to have  "unrecognized" diplomatic representations whose members accept the principle of non defrayed volunteering.

The ultimate accolade for a nascent state is joining the UN, the last to date being: Montenegro in 2006. To become a member, a state must fulfill the conditions laid down by Article 4 of the Charter. "Terms interpreted very loosely," says Leila Lankarani, State doctorate in law at the University of Bordeaux. The admission of a new member is then carried by a majority vote of two thirds of the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. In all cases, the international community does not take into account the viability of new states. According to Leila Lankarani, "economic viability is only a part of the concept of effective power, and its appreciation by the State making the recognition is subjective."

"SIGA" is a terra nullius. Vit Jedlicka claimed it in respect of the international law. But there are no citizens except Vit Jedlicka himself. The Constitution of the Free Republic of Liberland is not voted yet. It is now imperative to appoint citizens and unite them during a Constituent Assembly, chaired by Vit Jedlicka, to vote the Constitution of Liberland ... which preparatory work must be completed quickly. The text of the Constitution is imperfect for the moment, and demand serious adjustments regarding  participatory democracy. A work program and a serious timetable must be established. A  "target" date, must be determined to give serious pledges to Liberland’s neighboring countries and the International Community (UN).

Definition: The Government

The current provisional government of The Free Republic of Liberland (Aug. 1st 2015) is Mr Vit Jedlicka.

The sole authority of Liberland is its people; its citizens. It is the people who elect a government in their service, and who has the right to dispose of such government or change the individuals serving in it, by means of referendum, as they see fit.
The government and those serving in the government hold no authority or privileges above those given to in the constitution of the Free Republic of Liberland, as well as those defined in supplementary statutes, such as the administration of the citizenship merit system.
To introduce the possibility of legitimate and democratic rule, prior to the establishment of the merit system, it is the duty of the provisional government to select a baseline of 50 named citizens from candidates and stakeholders in the Liberland project, who through their commitment in spring and early summer 2015, have shown themselves worthy of citizenship.
This group of initial citizens must comply with all requirements laid out in this document, save merits - and will be appointed through joint session of the primary stakeholders in the Liberland project aka. the government (currently: Vit Jedlicka), the Liberland Settlement Association (LSA) and the Embassy network.
While this may allow a small number of citizens to obtain their citizenship through less effort than would otherwise be required through the merit system, a baseline of citizens is considered a prerequisite for democratic authority and a government off the people.
It will be entirely possible to participate as a member of the government - or to be otherwise engaged in the support of Liberland, while still being a citizen applicant.

The reward of merit


The rewarding of merit and the very concept of merit itself depend on the way one sees a good society and the criteria one invokes to assess the successes and failures of societies (SEN, 2000).
There are two different ways of seeing merit and systems of rewarding it:
  1. Incentives: Actions may be rewarded for the good they do, and a system of remunerating the activities that generate good consequences would, it is presumed, tend to produce a better society. The idea of merits, in this instrumental perspective, relates to the motivation of producing better results. In this view, actions are meritorious in a derivative and contingent way, depending on the good they do, and more particularly the good that can be brought about by rewarding them.

  1. Action propriety: Actions may be judged by their propriety, not by their results. They may be rewarded according to the quality of such actions, judged in a result-independent way. Much use has been made of this approach to merit and parts of deontological ethics separate out right conduct — for praise and emulation — independent of the goodness of the consequences generated.

Comment: the incentive-based argument for rewarding merit tends to be accepted as the main justification for such a reward system, and in our case, the best way to build the “Merits” distribution system in Liberland. In the principles that will guide the issuance and distribution of Merits, it seems fundamental to remember at all times :
  • Not to mix merit of actions with that of persons (and possibly of groups of people)
  • Not to overlook the instrumental nature of the incentive argument and seeing the rewards of merit as intrinsic entitlements

The Merit System

For the Merit system to be applicable, a necessity for the prior foundation of an authority entitled to act on behalf of Liberland appears. Without such authority, the Merit system cannot be implemented. This authority should be built on democratic principles (i.e. by the people for the people), and therefore be elected and controlled by a first base of citizens. In order to achieve this purpose, the President of Liberland will grant citizenship to individuals whose contribution to the establishment of Liberland does not need to be proven anymore. Being aware of the special treatment these individuals will receive (they will be de facto exempted of the dispositions proposes for the Merit system), their number should be restrained, but sufficient to elect a government, vote the Constitution, and form a few committees to assess the future applications when needed (in respect of the dispositions proposed for the Merit system).
Each diplomatic mission is invited to submit a list of names for the President to approve and grant citizenship to.

Functional organization of the distribution of Merits


The Merit system aims to reward applicants to Liberland citizenship and Liberland citizens for their service in the creation, establishment, and maintenance of the Free Republic of Liberland.

  • The government publishes on a regular basis the amount of merits a candidate must return to the government in order to get the citizenship. The initial amount should be 10 000.
  • The government is the only institution entitled to issue Merits.
  • In case of a result due to a collective action (embassy team, settlement association), the Merits will be given to the head of the group, which will transfer them to the members.
  • All the transactions will be public, with issuance of a contract.
  • The value of each action is determined by the government at its issuance (see appendix)
  • The Merits are granted after the action is successfully realised.
  • The Merits can be given, exchanged or traded between applicants. The content of the trade is public.
  • The government may decide to create more Merits units. The government may also remove Merits that are not assigned to candidates. For the first batch, the government shall release an amount of 5 000 000 Merits.
  • The government updates the suggested table of merit awards regularly, keeping a change track record.
  • The government either directly awards merits to citizen applicants, or authorizes a person or group of persons to do so on its behalf.
  • Merits will be issued dating back to April 2015.
  • Merits in excess of what is required for citizenship, can still be awarded - and traded/given away by the holder, for instance to secure citizenship for family and relatives.
  • Awarded citizenship does not extend to dependant, eg. husband/wife and children. However, once citizenship is acquired, dependents of one already a citizen may acquire citizenship at half the normal merit requirement.

The contract signed between the government and the applicant(s) and/or citizen(s) for the realization of an action destined to promote and help the settlement and the prosperity of Liberland must contain :
  • A precise description of the action the applicant(s) and/or citizen(s) commit themselves to realize
  • The modalities of the distribution of the hourly rewards (given in full at the end of the “mission”, distributed on a regular basis, etc.)
  • If relevant, the deadline of the mission
  • The modalities of the distribution of the reward in case of failure to realize the action or breach of contract (distribution of the hourly reward, etc.)

Issuance of Merits - Technical organization


The merits will initially be issued as tokens on the bitcoin blockchain through an existing and well established protocol. If a better solution is found in the future, it will be implemented securely and officially so that no merit can be lost.

In order to keep as much transparency as possible - as well as not to require technical and/or practical understanding of blockchain technology, an online platform will be developed, and rendered accessible through a website and an app. Each applicant will have an account, and will be able to see, at any time :
  • Who owns Merits (government, others applicants), and how many
  • The list of available actions and their rewards in Merits

The website/app will also display the necessary amount of Merits to receive citizenship. It will keep track of all the transactions to prevent applicants to claim Merits they don’t deserve.

Finally, the platform will propose an exchange feature : the applicants will be able to trade Merits through the website/app. Each transaction will be public, but not regulated. Exchange rates between Merits and other currencies is not the business of the government.

Governmental vision of the website/app :
  • Integrated user interface to optimize the operations necessary to realize nationhood,
  • Render public the assigning and fulfillment of the remaining tasks,
  • Connect Liberlandians to one another, for cooperative purposes, via a messaging-and-commenting system;
  • Streamline the gratification of logistical needs via a full-dress reservation portal for flights, buses, taxis and lodging.

How to become a citizen


Definitive conditions imposed by Liberland Government

  • Understanding and accepting ethics of freedom (respect for private property, individual rights - and principal of non aggression). That condition will be individually checked by a group of, by the government, appointed citizens, who will verify that the candidate truly understands what this means;
  • No criminal record. suggesting serious crime against person(s) or property, or crime otherwise incompatible with the principles of individual rights, ethics of freedom and the non-aggression principle;
  • Possessing the necessary amount of merits.

In addition to the merit requirements, a small fee (no more than USD 150) may be required to obtain passport and similar documents from the Liberland government.

NB: Please note that in the future, Croatian authorities will likely manage border checkpoints to and from Liberland, and that Liberland will actively protect its border from being crossed except through the official checkpoints, even if such unauthorized border crossers hold Liberland citizenship. Thus Croatian authorities have it in their power to decide whether or not a traveller, Liberland citizen or not, will be allowed access to Liberland.
By extension, Liberland citizens who do not also hold citizenship in the EU or countries with whom the EU has visa agreements, may be prevented from traveling to- and from Liberland, unless properly applying for a Croatian visitor's visa, and Liberland cannot guarantee such citizens that they will be granted access to Liberland at the Croatian checkpoints.




Access to Liberland territory - Temporary conditions


Due to the current unresolved dispute between Liberland and the Croatian authorities, some temporary conditions need to be met in order to settle in or visit Liberland - to minimize the risks and consequences of being arrested by Croatian police, and not to cause harm to the long term relations between Liberland and its neighbours :
  • Only EU citizens, or persons with valid permission/visa to stay in Croatia & Serbia - are allowed on the territory of Liberland;
  • Valid non-Liberland passport (and Croatian visa for non-EU citizens) should always be carried on one's person when visiting Liberland;
  • No guns/weapons or drugs are allowed on the territory. Nor any alcohol, tobacco or other goods, in excess of normal customs allowance per person, when crossing an international border;
  • Strict respect for the environment must be observed, and no non-organic waste may be left behind;
  • No permanent structures or buildings may currently be erected in Liberland;
  • Only small groups of people on site. Larger groups of people should consult the government or on-site NGO’s  before visiting Liberland.

These conditions will be reviewed as soon as the situation evolves. Not respecting the conditions as defined may permanently damage any chance of obtaining future Liberland citizenship.

APPENDIX : FIRST ATTEMPT AT DETERMINING VALUES OF ACTIONS (NON EXHAUSTIVE)


Action
Value (Merits)
Ad-hoc work for the Liberland government or other Liberland organizations
20 / hour
Opening and managing a Facebook page to promote Liberland
Managing the Liberland official website forum
Opening and managing a Wikipedia page to promote Liberland
1 000 (april 2015)
500 (may 2015)
250 (from june 2015)
Translation of Liberland official documents (Constitution, etc.)
250-100
Being appointed Liberland Ambassador/Minister
500-1 000
Being appointed in the team of a Liberland Ambassador/Minister
500
Organising a President’s visit in a foreign country
1 000
Organising a Liberland festive event
500-1 000
Being arrested and presented in front of a judge for the cause of Liberland
100 / day
Spending time on-site as a volunteer for the government or Liberland NGO’s (first 48 hours not counted)
150 / day
Documented visit of Liberland - prior to the blockade being lifted.
200
Spending time in croatian prison for the cause of Liberland
250 / day
Donation to the government of Liberland
1 / USD donated