The Courts
The Supreme Court
This is a superior court of record with final authority to adjudicate all cases and controversies brought before it. It consists of a chief justice and two associate justices. The chief justice is Daniel N. Cadra, an American who was served as chief justice of the Supreme Court since September 2003. Generally, associate justices have been pro tem judges from other jurisdictions, e.g., the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Federal District Court in Hawaii, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Canada.
The High Court
Majuro Courthouse in Uliga. Photo: Marshall Islands Journal
The High Court is a superior court of record having general jurisdiction over controversies of law and fact in the Marshall Islands. The High Court has original jurisdiction over all cases properly filed with it, appellate jurisdiction over cases originally filed in subordinate courts, and, unless otherwise provided by law, jurisdiction to review the legality of any final decision of a government agency.
It currently consists of a chief justice, Carl Ingram, who has served as a justice of the High Court since March 2003. He first came to the Marshall Islands in 1979 as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Ingram is joined by Associate Justice Witten Philippo, who is a founding member of the Marshall Islands Law Society.
Traditional Rights Court
The Traditional Rights Court (“TRC”) is a special-jurisdiction court of record consisting of three or more judges appointed for terms of four to 10 years and selected to include a fair representation of all classes of land rights: Iroijlaplap (high chief); where applicable, Iroijedrik (lower chief); Alap (head of commoner/worker clan); and Dri Jerbal (commoner/worker).
The jurisdiction of the TRC is limited to questions relating to titles to land rights or other legal interests depending wholly or partly on customary law and traditional practices.
In 2021, Cabinet appointed Judge Grace Leban to serve as a 10-year term as chief judge of the TRC. The TRC’s Associate Judges are Nixon David and Claire Loeak.
District Court
The District Court is a limited-jurisdiction court of record. Its presiding judge is Ablos Tarry Paul. The Associate Judge is Alexander Capelle.
The current District Court judges are lay judges who receive specialized training. The District Court has original jurisdiction concurrent with the High Court (i) in civil cases where the amount claimed or the value of the property involved does not exceed $10,000 and (ii) in criminal cases involving offenses for which the maximum penalty does not exceed a fine of $4,000 or imprisonment for a term of less than three years, or both.
Note: The above is an abbreviated version of the information found at the website below, which is a wonderful site with an abundance of detail: Bios of Senior Judges and Staff – Republic of the Marshall Islands Judiciary
