ABOUT GAPLA: OVERVIEW, HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION

The Federated States of Gapla is a beautiful new country located on two forested lands on the west bank of the Danube River. Born from a border dispute, we aim to foster peace and promote harmony among ethnic groups in the region. Our goal is to create an innovative, modern nation ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, in line with our principles and values. As a newborn country, Gapla offers exciting opportunities for investment, settlement, and growth.

Gapla was founded on February 28, 2019, after discovering two unclaimed pieces of land near the border between Serbia and Croatia. Since then, we have declared the Federated States of Gapla as a sovereign country and are seeking individuals to help build and settle our country. The Provisional Government is actively involved in planning for our new nation and working on other exciting initiatives.

HOW IS GAPLA EVEN POSSIBLE?

Gapla is technically a country as it has the highest authority over a piece of territory, acquired through the terra nullius principle of international law.

Sovereign states, commonly known as countries (although the terms are not always interchangeable), exercise the highest legitimate authority over a piece of territory by definition, which Gapla exercises on Greater Danubia through the terra nullius principle of international law. They are not formally bound by the laws or regulations of other states or organizations unless by mutual consent. Therefore, no sovereign state or organization has the power to regulate what is and is not a sovereign state, as they are not usually bound to other entities.

As a sovereign state, Gapla is not located within any other nation’s borders nor bound by their laws. Gapla exercises its sovereignty by forming a government, writing laws, and issuing passports, identity cards, and citizenship certificates.

While we exercise our powers as a sovereign state, we are not yet at the settlement stage. Instead, we are more of a community united by the vision of building a new country than one already existing, even though we are technically already are one. Under the terra nullius principle of international law, Gapla has sovereignty over its territory but has not yet settled it, and this is where we need your help to plan and build our future as a new, innovative, and modern country.

CROATIA-SERBIA BORDER DISPUTE

Unlike many border disputes, the Croatia-Serbia border dispute, located along an approximately 140 km section of the Danube River, is unique in that it involves pieces of territory unclaimed by both sides. Croatia’s position is that the international border lies along the boundaries of the cadastral municipalities situated along the river, reflecting the Danube’s course in the 19th century prior to anti-meandering and hydro technical engineering. In contrast, Serbia’s position is that the border follows the current centerline of the Danube River. These differing interpretations have resulted in unclaimed territories, namely Gornja Siga, Siga Island, the pocket west of Apatin, pocket 2, and pocket 3.

Additionally, some maps depict an area known as “pocket 1” and exclude the pocket west of Apatin, which originated from an erroneous border drawing in a widely-used source regarding the border dispute. However, official Croatian government maps confirm that the pocket west of Apatin exists, while “pocket 1” does not.

Although the issue was first raised in 1947, it became contentious following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, when former internal borders between the constituent states of Yugoslavia, including Croatia and Serbia, became international borders under the Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia in 1991. Both nations assert that their claims align with the results of the Dilas Convention, which established the borders between the constituent states of Yugoslavia.

The territories were regarded as terra nullius under international law after Yugoslavia’s dissolution until the early 2010s, when claims were made by entities such as the Principality of Ongal and the Free Republic of Liberland. Following the dissolution of the Principality of Ongal in 2022, the Federated States of Gapla became the sole legitimate claimant of several territories previously claimed by Ongal, as these areas reverted to terra nullius. The Federated States of Gapla ceded pocket 3 to the Free Republic of Verdis, the best known claimant to the territory, as well as Siga Island to the Free Republic of Liberland, due to its territorial control, while the Free Republic of Liberland retained Gornja Siga from a prior cession by the Principality of Ongal. Today, the sole legitimate claimants to the territory are the Free Republic of Liberland (Gornja Siga and Siga Island), the Federated States of Gapla (pocket 2 and the pocket west of Apatin), and the Free Republic of Verdis (pocket 3).

CONSTITUTION

This Constitution was the final one in effect before the Provisional Government and established many of the principles that the Provisional Charter later identified as unchanged. After the dissolution of the Provisional Government, a new Constitution will become Gapla’s supreme law.

FEATURED LINKS

About our Country – Gapla

National Symbols – Gapla