PART IV – RELATIONSHIP, LIABILITY & DISPUTES
- No Employment; No Agency; Expenses
12.1 No Employment. Participation is voluntary and self-directed. Nothing creates employment, worker, apprenticeship, or internship status.
12.2 No Contractor Relationship. Paid work requires a separate written agreement signed by an authorised signatory.
12.3 No Minimum Commitment. We impose no minimum time commitment, exclusivity, or performance quotas, except as eligibility thresholds within Missions you voluntarily choose to enter.
12.4 Expenses. You bear your own participation costs unless Prize Mission Rules expressly provide for reimbursement of specified expenses.
- Special Experience Rewards
13.1 Scope. Some Rewards, Prizes, Missions, Prize Missions, and Program experiences may involve travel, maritime transfer, offshore or restricted access, site visits, identity verification, sanctions or compliance screening, insurance obligations, visitor waivers, health or fitness requirements, safety requirements, conduct obligations, media restrictions, and operational approval. Each such experience is a “Special Experience Reward.”
This Section 13 applies to all Special Experience Rewards unless the applicable Mission Rules, Prize Mission Rules, Promotion Official Rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions expressly provide more specific terms for that Special Experience Reward. Where more specific terms apply, those more specific terms prevail for the relevant Special Experience Reward only. In all other respects, the Builders Terms continue to apply.
13.2 Participant Costs. Unless the applicable rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions expressly state otherwise, the participant or winner is responsible for:
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passports, visas, UK Electronic Travel Authorisation, immigration permissions, entry requirements, and other travel documents;
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travel to and from any designated departure point, meeting point, accommodation, airport, port, or other location notified in the applicable rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions;
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accommodation and meals before or after the experience, unless expressly included;
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travel, medical, personal accident, emergency evacuation or repatriation, cancellation or curtailment, and any other insurance reasonably required for the experience;
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taxes, duties, and personal reporting obligations;
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medical costs, guest or companion costs, lost income, personal expenses, and incidentals; and
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any other cost not expressly listed as included in the applicable rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions.
This Section 13.2 prevails over Section 12.4 (Expenses) to the extent of any conflict relating to a Special Experience Reward.
13.3 Insurance and Visitor Documents. Where required by the Operator, the applicable rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions, a participant or winner must provide proof of insurance meeting the minimum coverage levels specified by the Operator and must sign all required visitor waivers, releases, safety acknowledgments, conduct undertakings, confidentiality undertakings, media undertakings, and access documents before the Special Experience Reward is confirmed or delivered.
The participant or winner must complete these requirements within the period stated in the applicable rules, visitor terms, or written visitor instructions. If no period is stated, the participant or winner must complete them within the reasonable period notified by the Operator in writing. Failure to comply within the applicable period may result in withdrawal of the Special Experience Reward and, where applicable, selection of an alternative eligible winner in accordance with the applicable rules.
Nothing in any waiver, release, notice, instruction, or document excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so.
13.4 Safety, Access, and Operational Conditions. Special Experience Rewards involving travel, maritime transfer, offshore access, restricted access, site visits, or operationally sensitive access are subject to weather and sea conditions, vessel or transport availability, access approval, identity and eligibility checks, health and fitness screening, visitor conduct requirements, sanctions and compliance checks, safety instructions, legal and regulatory requirements, security considerations, capacity limits, and operational feasibility.
The Operator may postpone, reschedule, modify, substitute, or cancel a Special Experience Reward where reasonably required by safety, access, legal, compliance, security, weather, maritime, transport, capacity, operational, force majeure, or Program-integrity considerations, subject to applicable consumer law and any substitution provisions in the applicable rules.
Where the Operator exercises a power under this Section 13.4, Section 13.6 applies to notification, delivery commitment, and any available alternative recognition or remedy.
13.5 Data and Privacy. Personal data collected in connection with a Special Experience Reward may include identity, eligibility, contact, insurance, travel, safety, health, sanctions-screening, compliance, media, visitor, and access-related information. The Operator will process such data in accordance with the Program Privacy Notice and applicable data protection law, including UK GDPR where applicable.
The Operator may share relevant information with its service providers, transport providers, safety personnel, access personnel, professional advisers, insurers, compliance providers, and other persons reasonably required to administer, verify, deliver, or manage the Special Experience Reward, subject to applicable data protection law.
13.6 Delivery Commitment. The Operator will use reasonable efforts to deliver confirmed Special Experience Rewards to eligible winners. Discretionary powers under this Section 13 will be exercised only where reasonably required by safety, access, legal, compliance, security, weather, maritime, transport, operational, force majeure, or Program-integrity considerations.
The Operator will notify affected winner(s) of any material change as promptly as reasonably practicable. Where a confirmed Special Experience Reward cannot reasonably be delivered, the Operator may reschedule the experience or provide a substitute reward where permitted by the applicable rules and applicable law.
Where a confirmed Special Experience Reward cannot reasonably be delivered and substitution is not reasonably practicable in the circumstances, the Operator will notify the affected winner and will consider, acting reasonably and in good faith, what alternative recognition or remedy is appropriate, subject to applicable law and the applicable rules. No cash alternative is available unless expressly offered by the Operator in writing or required by applicable law.
13.7 No Travel, Immigration, Medical, Insurance, Tax, or Legal Advice. The Operator does not provide travel, immigration, medical, insurance, tax, or legal advice. Participants and winners are responsible for obtaining their own independent advice where appropriate and for confirming that they can lawfully and safely participate in the relevant Special Experience Reward.
- Third-Party Platforms
14.1 Third-Party Terms Apply. Your use of any Third-Party Platform is governed by that platform’s own terms and policies. You are responsible for compliance with them.
14.2 No Operator Control. We are not responsible for platform availability, moderation decisions, algorithm changes, account enforcement actions, or analytics accuracy.
14.3 Platform Disclaimers. Any Mission, Prize Mission, campaign, or public engagement activity conducted on or through a Third-Party Platform must include, where appropriate, a disclaimer that the relevant activity is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with that platform, unless the applicable Mission Rules expressly state otherwise.
14.4 Shopify. Where Rewards are delivered via Shopify, Shopify store policies apply. Consumer rights relating to E-Citizenship subscriptions remain governed by the E-Citizenship Terms and applicable consumer law.
- Privacy & Data Protection
15.1 Privacy Notice. Personal data processing is governed by the Operator’s Builders Program Privacy Notice (https://sealand.discourse.group/t/builders-program-privacy-policy/62), incorporated by reference. The Operator is the data controller for Program personal data unless applicable Prize Mission Rules state otherwise. The Privacy Notice prevails on data protection matters. The Operator may rely on contract, legitimate interests, and any other lawful basis identified in the Privacy Notice, and will document its assessment where required by applicable data protection law.
15.2 Purposes. Program personal data may be processed for Program administration; onboarding; eligibility, sanctions, and identity verification; fraud prevention; Rewards fulfilment; communications; community safety; Mission administration; Sealand Community shortlisting and voting administration; review of Public Engagement Metrics and other publicly visible Third-Party Platform Data for verification, shortlisting, finalist selection, judging support, anti-manipulation review, and Program integrity; and legal compliance.
15.3 Third-Party Platform Data. Where Missions involve Third-Party Platforms, we may review publicly available data, including profile handles, post URLs, timestamps, visible engagement indicators, screenshots, and other platform integrity signals, for verification, shortlisting, finalist selection, judging support, anti-fraud review, and related Program administration, as disclosed in Section 11.4 and the Privacy Notice.
15.4 International Transfers. We may transfer personal data internationally using legally required safeguards. Details are in the Privacy Notice.
15.5 Your Rights. Access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction, and objection rights are set out in the Privacy Notice. Contact ops@sealandgov.org.
- Suspension, Termination & Appeals
16.1 Enforcement. Acting reasonably and in good faith, we may warn, suspend, or terminate participation; remove or disqualify Content or entries (including from Shortlisted selections, Finalists stages, and final community voting pools); revoke Points, Badges, or tier status; and withhold or claw back Rewards, where a Builder violates these Builders Terms, any applicable Mission Rules (including Prize Mission Rules), E-Citizenship Terms, platform policies, or law, or where necessary for safety or Program integrity.
16.2 Effect on Rewards. Termination for cause results in forfeiture of pending Rewards. Rewards obtained through fraud or material violation may be reversed, acting reasonably and on evidence sufficient to support that conclusion, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
16.3 Voluntary Exit. Accrued and issued Rewards are unaffected by voluntary cessation. Pending Rewards remain subject to Mission completion requirements.
16.4 Appeals. Email ops@sealandgov.org within 14 days of notice of any enforcement decision. We will acknowledge within 5 business days and respond substantively within 30 days. Appeal decisions are final except where applicable law provides otherwise.
- Disclaimers
17.1 The Program and all Missions are provided “as is” and “as available”. We disclaim all implied warranties to the maximum extent permitted by law.
17.2 We do not guarantee Mission availability, uninterrupted access, or that participation will result in any Reward, Points, Badges, or public visibility.
17.3 Nothing in the Program constitutes legal, tax, financial, immigration, or investment advice. Obtain independent professional advice where needed.
17.4 Nothing in this Section limits rights that cannot be excluded under consumer protection law.
18.Limitation of Liability
18.1 Excluded Losses. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages, or loss of profits, revenue, data, contracts, business opportunity, or goodwill.
18.2 Cap. Our total aggregate liability arising from or connected to the Program shall not exceed the greater of: (a) £100; or (b) E-Citizenship fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose.
18.2A Consumer Carve-Out. Clauses 17.1 and 17.2 apply only to the extent permitted by consumer protection law. Nothing in these Builders Terms limits rights or remedies that cannot be excluded or limited by law.
18.3 Non-Excludable. Nothing in these Builders Terms limits liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or capped under applicable law.
- Indemnity
19.1 Scope. You indemnify the Operator and its affiliates, officers, directors, and employees against claims, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your Content; (b) your breach of these Builders Terms or Prize Mission Rules; (c) your violation of applicable law; or (d) your wilful misconduct or gross negligence.
19.2 Limitations. This indemnity does not apply to the extent a claim arises from our own unlawful conduct or negligence. It does not apply to Consumers where prohibited by consumer protection law in their jurisdiction.
- Disputes; Governing Law; Consumer Rights
20.1 Informal Resolution. Send a written notice to ops@sealandgov.org describing the claim and relief sought. We will acknowledge within 5 business days and attempt to resolve in good faith within 30 days. Emergency court relief is not precluded by this clause.
20.2 Governing Law. England and Wales, subject to consumer protections applicable in your jurisdiction.
20.3 Arbitration - Non-Consumers Only. This clause applies only to non-Consumers. Any dispute that cannot be resolved under Section 20.1 will be finally settled by binding arbitration under LCIA Rules, seated in London, before one arbitrator, in English. The award may be enforced in any court with jurisdiction.
20.3A Optional ADR for Consumers. If you are a Consumer, you and the Operator may agree after a dispute arises to resolve it through mediation or arbitration. This does not limit your right to bring a claim in court.
20.4 Consumer Rights Reserved. If you are a Consumer, you retain the right to bring claims before the courts of your jurisdiction of habitual residence and to all statutory rights that cannot be contractually waived. Clause 20.3 does not apply to Consumers.
- Changes to These Builders Terms
21.1 We may update these Builders Terms for legal, regulatory, operational, or security reasons.
21.2 Material Changes. At least 30 days’ advance notice via email and/or Program channels, with effective date clearly stated. If you do not accept a material change, stop participating before the effective date; Rewards already issued are unaffected.
21.3 Minor Changes. No advance notice required; changelog published in Program channels within 7 days. Minor changes include typographical corrections, updated contact details, and non-substantive clarifications that do not materially reduce your rights or increase your obligations.
21.4 Continued participation after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Builders Terms.
- Miscellaneous
22.1 Assignment. You may not assign your rights without our prior written consent. We may assign in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice to you.
22.2 Severability. If any provision is unenforceable, it is severed; the remainder continues in full force.
22.3 No Waiver. Failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right or any other remedy.
22.4 Force Majeure. Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, government action, power failures, or platform outages.
22.5 Entire Agreement. These Builders Terms and all incorporated documents are the entire agreement for the Program. They do not modify the E-Citizenship Terms except as expressly stated.
22.6 Language. These Builders Terms are in English. If translated, the English version prevails.
IMPORTANT: This Program does not create any passport, visa, immigration right, diplomatic protection, tax immunity, or governmental authority recognized by any state. E-Citizenship and Program participation are community membership concepts only. See Section 3.