The ARRL DXCC Desk is pleased to announce the addition of St Barthelemy (FJ) to the DXCC List, making the island entity number 338 with an effective date of 14 December, 2007. Cards with contacts dated December 14, 2007 or after will be accepted for DXCC credit. New card submissions for St Barthelemy will not be accepted until January 1, 2008 in order to allow time for administrative adjustments.

Background

On February 21, 2007 the French Ministry issued a decree making St Barthelemy an Overseas Collective, making its status equal to that of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other French territories currently on the DXCC List. On November 8, 2007 the President of Association Des Radio Amateurs De St Barthelemy, Philippe Delcroix, FJ5DX, contacted the DXCC Desk, requesting that St Barthelemy be considered a new DXCC entity.

The “event date” that caused St. Barthelemy to be added to the DXCC list was December 14, 2007, the date the US State Department Fact sheet was updated by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. This update added St Barthelemy to the List of Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty with its Administrative Center in Gustavia, qualifying it under DXCC rules in Section II -- 1 Political Entities (c):

c) The Entity contains a permanent population, is administered by a local government, and is located at least 800 km from its parent. To satisfy the “permanent population” and “administered by a local government” criteria of this sub-section, an Entity must be listed on either (a) the U.S. Department of State’s list of “Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty” as having a local “Administrative Center,” or (b) the United Nations list of “Non-Self-Governing Territories.”

St Martin

French St Martin (FS), while also added to the List of Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty, will remain on the DXCC List, but it is now considered a Point 1 Political Entity under the same classification as that of St Barthelemy.

Please direct any questions you may have about St Barthelemy, St Martin or the DXCC program to the dxcc@arrl.org

73 es DX!