Criminal
Criminal Code 2011 on a US model, prosecuted by the Attorney-General
The Criminal Code 2011 codifies offences and defences on a United States model. Serious matters are tried in the High Court, summary matters in the District and Community Courts.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. The High Court has general criminal jurisdiction; the District Court and Community Courts handle summary and local offences.
Governing law
- Criminal Code 2011
- Criminal Procedure Act
- Constitution of the Marshall Islands 1979 (art. II, ss. 4-6)
- Counter-Terrorism Act 2002
In practice
The Criminal Code 2011 replaced older Trust Territory provisions with a modern code drawing on the US Model Penal Code, including graded offence classes and codified culpability standards. Constitutional protections in article II cover arrest, counsel, self-incrimination and unreasonable search, and are read in light of United States authority given the shared drafting heritage. There is no death penalty. Practical constraints dominate: legal aid and defence capacity are thin, judges and prosecutors are often recruited from abroad, and the geographic spread across the atolls means Community Courts staffed by local judges handle much day-to-day work. Custom may be relevant to mitigation and to reconciliation, but it does not displace the code.