Helinium
Helinium | |
|---|---|
Town of Austenasia | |
 Seal | |
| Established | 14 May 2022 |
| Government | |
| • Representative | Bradley, King of the Romans |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2 |
| Time zone | UTC+1:00 |
Helinium is an Austenasian Town which is an enclave of the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It is composed of a cross-section of a residential property, and has a population of two.
Helinium first became independent from the Netherlands on 1 November 2020, when it was claimed for the Commonwealth of New Virginia by Bradley, Duke of Dullahan. It remained a New Virginian Town for just under nine months, until it seceded in late July 2021 in reaction to a socialist coup attempt (the secession was retrospectively recognised by the re-stabilised New Virginian government on 4 August). Helinium thereafter existed as an independent and somewhat isolationist city-state. Early May 2022 saw Duke Bradley (by then also King of the Romans) hold discussions with Emperor Jonathan I of Austenasia regarding Helinium's entry into the Empire.
The Town was subsequently annexed by Austenasia on 14 May, with Bradley appointed its Acting Representative in the legislation which claimed Helinium. He went on to be elected to the position proper in a local election the following month. Helinium is inhabited by Bradley's sister and her partner. Although Bradley does not live in Helinium itself, he lives within the requisite distance to be eligible to hold office as the Town's Representative.
Austenasian law adheres to the ad coelum doctrine in regards to sovereignty, meaning that the properties above the residence inhabited by Helinium's population are also technically claimed as part of the Town, without the knowledge or consent of their inhabitants. This situation would be impossible under the standard requirements of Austenasian law regarding the annexation of new territorial claims, but came about due to the unique situation of Helinium as a pre-existing sovereign polity which had been originally annexed by New Virginia rather than Austenasia. A solution to this problem was put forward by an Imperial Decree on 23 May 2022, just over a week after Helinium joined Austenasia. First, the properties above Helinium were placed under Dutch extraterritoriality; second, their residents were recognised as being above rather than within Austenasia, thereby holding a legal status analogous to people on a plane that happens to fly over Austenasian land rather than people unknowingly living in it.
