United States law guides and influences Marshall Islands law and practice. As
a former U.S. Trust Territory, the Republic of the Marshall Islands modeled its
Constitution on the United States Constitution, and therefore, it is influenced by the
American legal system. Although the courts are not bound by foreign law, Article
1, Section 3 provides that “[i]n interpreting and applying this Constitution, a court
shall look to the decisions of the courts of other countries having constitutions
similar, in the relevant respect, to the Constitution of the Marshall Islands.”

With regard to corporate law, the Marshall Islands closely follows U.S. law,
particularly the laws of the State of Delaware. The Marshall Islands Revised Code
(“MIRC”) explicitly instructs the courts to look to Delaware corporate law. The
Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act “shall be applied and construed to make
the laws of the Republic … uniform with the laws of the State of Delaware.” See 52
MIRC, Part I, § 13.

With regard to maritime law, the Marshall Islands has adopted the common law of the United States. The Marshall Islands Revised Code provides that as long as it does not conflict with Marshall Islands law, “the non-statutory general maritime law of the United States of America is hereby declared to be and is hereby adopted as the general maritime law of the Republic.” See 47 MIRC § 113.

Furthermore, in the Marshall Islands all attorneys are bound by the American Bar
Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. See Rule 5(f) of the Marshall
Islands Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law and for the Practice of Law
(2007). In addition, the Marshall Islands Rules of Civil Procedure (“MIRCP”) are
modeled after the United States Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The 2013 MIRCP
were adopted on February 4, 2013, and became effective on March 4, 2013.