Rights
1979 Constitution blending a Westminster executive with chiefly authority
A republic under the 1979 Constitution with a President elected by and from the Nitijela, a justiciable bill of rights, and a Council of Iroij that reviews legislation touching custom and land.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — A unitary republic across 29 atolls and five islands. Local government sits with atoll councils, and customary authority runs in parallel through chiefly title rather than through territorial subdivision.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Marshall Islands 1979 (art. II (bill of rights))
- Constitution of the Marshall Islands 1979 (art. III (Council of Iroij))
- Constitution of the Marshall Islands 1979 (art. VI (judiciary))
- Compact of Free Association Act 1986
In practice
The Constitution combines a parliamentary executive with entrenched traditional authority. The Nitijela of 33 members elects the President from among its own membership, so the executive is drawn from and answerable to the legislature. Article III establishes the Council of Iroij, twelve traditional leaders who may express an opinion on any bill affecting customary law, land tenure or traditional practice; the opinion does not bind the Nitijela but it is a formal constitutional stage. Article VI creates the Traditional Rights Court, a court of record with jurisdiction over customary title and land, which no other Pacific constitution replicates in quite this form. The Compact of Free Association, effective 1986 and renewed in 2024 through 2043, leaves defence and security to the United States while preserving Marshallese sovereignty over internal affairs.