Title 7 — Judiciary and Civil Procedure

The Judicial Council is hereby constituted the Board of Law Examiners. The clerk of the Superior Court is the ex officio secretary- treasurer of the Board. SOURCE: GC § 28015. Formerly numbered Appendix A 7 GCA § 9108, renumbered by Compiler to § 9A108. NOTE: Must be cross-refere…

The Board of Law Examiners has charge of the investigation and COL070307 examination of all persons who initially apply for admission to the Bar of Guam. The Board may adopt suitable regulations, subject to approval by the Superior Court, concerning the performance of its functio…

The Board of Law Examiners shall meet at least twice in each year at such times and places as its chairman shall determine for the purpose of investigating, examining, hearing and passing upon the qualifications of applicants for admission to the Bar and to transact such other bu…

The fees required to be paid by applicants for admission to the Bar shall be paid to the Board of Law Examiners and shall be deposited in the Treasury of Guam and shall constitute a separate fund for the reimbursement of expenses of members of the Board of Law Examiners and for t…

Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the contrary, the Board of Law Examiners may use funds of the Judicial Council in order to COL070307 accomplish its purposes. SOURCE: GC § 28018.1 added by P.L. 14-124:20. Formerly numbered Appendix A 7 GCA § 9112, renumbered by Compiler…

A person is qualified for admission to the Bar of Guam who proves to the satisfaction of the Board of Law Examiners: (a) that he has resided in Guam for not less than three (3) months preceding certification and intends in good faith to practice in Guam; (b) that he is at least e…

Any person employed as an attorney by the Government or by the Guam Legal Services Corporation or by the United States may be admitted COL070307 temporarily without written examination and only for the purposes of such employment if, upon application, the Board determines that th…

Any person who is a member of the bar of the highest court of any state or territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia, while representing the United States of America, the government of Guam, or any agency, instrumentality, officer or employee thereof, in the c…

An applicant who is a member in good standing before the highest court in any state or territory of the United States or the District Court of Columbia may be admitted to the Guam Bar on the terms and conditions set forth in § 9A113 of this Article. SOURCE: GC § 28020. Formerly n…

Any person who is a member of the Bar of the highest court of any state or territory of the United States or the District Court of Columbia while temporarily in Guam and engaged in a particular matter may, on a case by case basis, petition the court to practice before the courts …

The Board of Law Examiners, or its designee, has the authority to examine or to cause to be examined any school, college or law school for the purpose of determining whether the standards of education and training required for admission to the Bar are being maintained and to excl…

It is the duty of all Guam law enforcement agencies to aid the Bar of Guam and the Board of Law Examiners, or its designee, in any investigation of the conduct of members of the Bar and the character and fitness of persons who apply for admission or reinstatement in the Bar and t…

All persons licensed to practice law in Guam on the effective date of this Act shall automatically become members of the Bar of Guam without being required to qualify therefor under the provisions of this Act. The clerk of the District Court of Guam shall certify and transmit to …

(a) Whenever the term Superior Court is used in this Article, it shall COL070307 mean an action taken by a majority of all of the judges of the Superior Court sitting en banc, unless a different meaning is specifically stated. (b) The Superior Court has jurisdiction to disbar, su…

In performing the duties and responsibilities under this Article, the Bar of Guam shall act through an Ethics Committee, which shall consist of seven members of the Bar of Guam, all in good standing, appointed by the President of the Bar of Guam, and approved by the Superior Cour…

(a) The Bar of Guam, through its Ethics Committee, is authorized to investigate and to hear all complaints brought by any source, or on its own motion, against attorneys admitted to the Bar of Guam. The Ethics Committee is authorized to investigate and hear and any complaints, or…

(a) The Ethics Committee shall administer the disciplinary system of the Bar of Guam as established in this Chapter through its Chairman and according to its Rules. COL070307 (b) Any committee member shall be reimbursed for any expenses undertaken by him in furtherance of his dut…

(a) The Ethics Committee, upon majority vote of its members, has the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and compel the production or inspection by it of books, records and other tangible objects and the authority to take testimony under o…

Discipline may be imposed for any of the following reasons: (a) conviction of a crime other than a non-serious traffic offense; (b) violation of a rule of professional conduct in effect in Guam; (c) discipline imposed in another jurisdiction; (d) violation of any disciplinary or …

The sanctions to be imposed in any given instance of a finding that an attorney is subject to discipline as provided in § 9A206, above, shall be determined by the Superior Court after hearing the recommendation of the Bar of Guam. Sanctions imposed by the Superior Court may range…

The Model Code of Professional Conduct of the American Bar Association, adopted by the Judicial Council and presented to the Legislature prior to the effective date of this Article, shall apply to the conduct of attorneys in Guam, unless it shall be changed by law or by Superior …

Members of the Bar of Guam, and employees and agents of the Bar shall not be held liable for any action performed in the course of their official duties undertaken pursuant to this Article relative to the discipline of attorneys and to the unauthorized practice of law. SOURCE: GC…

(a) The Bar of Guam, or an attorney against whom a final judgment has been rendered by the Superior Court in any case involving suspension, disbarment or non-disciplinary suspension or disbarment may appeal any final judgment of the Superior Court to the Appellate Division of the…

All disciplinary proceedings and deliberations of the Ethics Committee of the Bar of Guam shall be confidential and private until the Committee COL070307 has made its recommendations to the Superior Court or until the Ethics Committee issues the attorney in question a public repr…

The Bar of Guam shall, at least three times a year, in a newspaper of general circulation available in public places in Guam, announce in a prominent manner the fact of its existence and purpose and where members of the pubic can seek information about the ethics duties of the Ba…

Applicable. COL070307 Neither the Administrative Adjudication Law nor the Open Government Law shall be applicable to proceedings, deliberations and activities covered by this Article; provided, that the Administrative Adjudication Law and Open Government Law of Guam shall be appl…

(a) All disciplinary matters pending before the Judicial Council upon the effective date of this Article shall be transferred immediately to the Superior Court for proceedings in accordance with this Article. The Judicial Council shall have no further jurisdiction over such matte…

(a) Within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this section, the Ethics Committee of the Guam Bar Association shall promulgate proposed rules and regulations which define the acts which constitute the practice of law within Guam. Such rules and regulations shal…

(a) In representing a client, an attorney shall have a written fee agreement which is signed by the client if: COL070307 (1) The contemplated fee is in excess of $500, or (2) An appearance is required or reasonably contemplated before any court or agency by the attorney, or (3) T…

There is in the Territory of Guam but one form of civil action for the enforcement or protection of private rights and the redress or prevention of private wrongs. SOURCE: CCP § 307. See Rule 2 of the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure (GRCP).

In such action the party complaining is known as the plaintiff, and the adverse party is known as the defendant. SOURCE: CCP § 308.

A question of fact not put in issue by the pleadings may be tried by a judge, upon an order for the trial, stating distinctly and plainly the question of fact to be tried, and such an order is the only authority necessary for a trial. SOURCE: CCP § 309. COMMENT: Compare procedure…

Civil actions, without exception, can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in this Chapter, after the cause of action shall have accrued, unless where, in special cases, a different limitation is prescribed by law. SOURCE: CCP § 312. ARTICLE 2 COMMENCING ACTIONS FOR RE…

The government of Guam will not sue any person for or in respect to any real property, or the issue or profits thereof, by reason of the right or title of the government of Guam to the same, unless: (a) Such right or title or cause of action shall have accrued within ten years be…

No action can be brought for, or in respect to, real property by any person claiming under letters patent, or grants from any government of Guam, unless the same might have been commenced by the government of Guam as herein specified, in case such patent had not been issued or gr…

When letters patent or grants of real property issued or made by the government of Guam, or any previous government of Guam, are declared void by the determination of a competent court, an action for the recovery of the property so conveyed may be brought, either by the governmen…

No person shall commence any action at law or in equity for the recovery of land, or assert any interest in or right in or lien or demand upon the same, or make entry thereon adversely to the title of interest certified in the certificate of title bringing the land under the oper…

No action for the recovery of real property, or for the recovery of the possession thereof, can be maintained, unless it appears that the plaintiff, his ancestor, predecessor, or grantor, was seized or possessed of the property in question, within five years before the commenceme…

No cause of action, or defense to an action, arising out of the title to real property or to rents or profits out of the same, can be effectual, unless it appears that the person prosecuting the action, or making the defense, or, under whose title the action is prosecuted, or the…

No entry upon real estate is deemed sufficient or valid as a claim, unless an action be commenced thereupon within one year after making such entry, and within five years from the time when the right to make it descended or accrued. SOURCE: CCP § 320.

In every action for the recovery of real property, or the possession thereof, the person establishing a legal title to the property is presumed to have been possessed thereof within the time required by law, and the occupation of the property by any other person is deemed to have…

When it appears that the occupant, or those under whom he claims, entered into the possession of the property under claim of title, exclusive of other right, founding such claim upon a written instrument, as being a conveyance of the property in question, or upon the decree or ju…

For the purpose of constituting an adverse possession, by any person claiming a title founded upon a written instrument, or a judgment or decree, land is deemed to have been possessed and occupied in the following cases: (a) Where it has been usually cultivated or improved. (b) W…

Where it appears that there has been an actual continued occupation of land, under a claim of title, exclusive of any other right, but not founded upon a written instrument, judgment, or decree, the land so actually occupied, and no other, is deemed to have been held adversely. S…

For the purpose of constituting an adverse possession by a person claiming title, not founded upon a written instrument, judgment, or decree, land is deemed to have been possessed and occupied in the following cases only: (a) Where it has been protected by a substantial enclosure…

When the relation of landlord and tenant has existed between any persons, the possession of the tenant is deemed the possession of the landlord until expiration of five (5) years from the termination of the tenancy, or, where there has been no written lease, until the expiration …

The right of a person to the possession of real property is not impaired or affected by a descent cast in consequence of the death of a person in possession of such property. SOURCE: Guam CCP § 327.

If a person entitled to commence an action for the recovery of real property, or for the recovery of the possession thereof, or to make any entry or defense founded on the title to real property, or to rents or services out of the same is, at the time such title first descends or…

The periods prescribed for the commencement of actions other than for the recovery of real property, are as follows. SOURCE: CCP § 335.

(a) Any claim arising from an incident of child sexual abuse may be commenced against a person, a legal entity, abusers, their enablers, their aiders or abettors, those acting in concert with them and their institutions at any time. (b) Any claim arising from an incident of child…