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Taking to Water (3)


Exploiting the Loophole in International Law

To summarise:-

Therefore,  it was not out of a desire, but from  a  legal  and operational  necessity  that radio station operators wishing to  challenge established broadcasters in the second half of the twentieth century did  so from an offshore base. Operating in such a way was not illegal at the time since legislation did not  exist to prevent it happening - it was merely outside the law of most, if not all, countries. A suitable loophole had therefore been found and was exploited to the full.

The authorities clearly had to close the loophole, but they were also forced to deal with the matter in an entirely new and different way. It was a concept that had not been a serious problem before the late 1950s and over the years as the number and popularity of offshore stations grew governments of  every  political  persuasion  struggled to find a means of  silencing them. These actions were taken ostensibly to comply with, and protect, international agreements, but  in reality they often had more to do with protecting the existing state monopoly broadcasting systems.

For the authorities the solution to the 'problem' of offshore broadcasters  was far more complex than  any government at first envisaged, involving a tangled  web of  international  law and conventions which rendered them powerless to take direct, unilateral action.

Within a framework of international agreements, which themselves carried little or no weight in law, most governments  had to resort to introducing legislation which made it illegal for  their own citizens to be involved in any way with the workings or  promotion of an offshore broadcasting station.


With a large number of countries passing such laws this ultimately had the  effect of  closing most stations, but some offshore broadcasters successfully defied and challenged the legislation designed to outlaw them. In the end, however, practical operating difficulties - directly or indirectly resulting from the legislation, lack of financial income  or the ravages of the natural  elements made them  too, fall silent.





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State Monopolies and International Agreements

Taking  to Water early offshore days Challenging  the  State Monopolies State monopolies and international agreements Challenging the state monopolies 1 Taking to Water Early Offshore Days Almost  there ! Almost There!

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