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Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73not60

§1823 Appellate Jurisdiction of District Court; Procedure; Review by United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit; Rules

Title 48 › Chapter 17— NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS › Subchapter II— JUDICIAL MATTERS › § 1823

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Until the Northern Mariana Islands has its own appeals court, the U.S. district court will hear appeals from NMI courts under NMI law. NMI law cannot stop the district court from reviewing any decision that involves the U.S. Constitution, U.S. treaties, federal laws, the Covenant, or actions by U.S. officers or agencies. The district court can also check whether NMI laws or government actions match U.S. law or the Covenant. Final decisions of the district court’s appellate division can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which can make rules needed to carry out this process. Appeals in the district court are decided by a three-judge panel. Two judges make a quorum and two must agree on the decision. The judge appointed by the President leads the panel. That judge picks the other judges from those assigned under section 1821(b)(2), but no more than one may be a judge of a court of record of the NMI. The presiding judge alone can make orders before the full hearing and can dismiss an appeal if the court lacks jurisdiction or the appeal is not properly pursued.

Full Legal Text

Title 48, §1823

Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Prior to the establishment of an appellate court for the Northern Mariana Islands the district court shall have such appellate jurisdiction over the courts established by the Constitution or laws of the Northern Mariana Islands as the Constitution and laws of the Northern Mariana Islands provide, except that such Constitution and laws may not preclude the review of any judgment or order which involves the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America (90 Stat. 263) (hereinafter referred to as “Covenant”), or any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the Government of the United States, or the conformity of any law enacted by the legislature of the Northern Mariana Islands or of any orders or regulations issued or actions taken by the executive branch of the government of the Northern Mariana Islands with the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including the Covenant or with any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the United States.
(b)Appeals to the district court shall be heard and determined by an appellate division of the court consisting of three judges, of whom two shall constitute a quorum. The judge appointed for the court by the President shall be the presiding judge of the appellate division and shall preside therein unless disqualified or otherwise unable to act. The other judges who are to sit in the appellate division at any session shall be designated by the presiding judge from among the judges assigned to the court from time to time pursuant to section 1821(b)(2) of this title: Provided, That no more than one of them may be a judge of a court of record of the Northern Mariana Islands. The concurrence of two judges shall be necessary to any decision by the appellate division of the district court on the merits of an appeal but the presiding judge alone may make any appropriate orders with respect to an appeal prior to the hearing and determination thereof on the merits and may dismiss an appeal for want of jurisdiction or failure to take or prosecute it in accordance with the applicable law or rules of procedure.
(c)The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the appellate division of the district court. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit shall have jurisdiction to promulgate rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, referred to in subsec. (a), is contained in section 1 of Pub. L. 94–241, set out as a note under section 1801 of this title. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 1694b of this title.

Amendments

1984—Pub. L. 98–454 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions governing the appellate jurisdiction of the District Court prior to the establishment of the appellate court for former provisions which related to the appellate jurisdiction of the court and certain procedural matters which are covered under subsec. (b), and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–454 effective on ninetieth day following Oct. 5, 1984, see section 1005 of Pub. L. 98–454, set out as a note under section 1424 of this title.

Effective Date

For

Effective Date

of this section, see section 1825 of this title and

Effective Date

of Constitution note thereunder.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

48 U.S.C. § 1823

Title 48 — Territories and Insular Possessions

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60