130 



COMMONWEALTH OF 



THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 



Statement of Jesus C. Borja 



June 1, 1995 



vessels. 



Our draft amendments provide that the employment of aliens 

 on vessels fishing in the territorial waters and exclusive eco- 

 nomic zone adjacent to a Pacific insular area will be controlled 

 by the government of that insular area, if that government has 

 the power to control the employment of aliens. The Northern Mar- 

 iana Islands and American Samoa currently have that power; Guam 

 seeks similar authority in its proposed Commonwealth Act. 



Federal district court jurisdiction 



Finally, one of our proposed amendments affects only our 



Commonwealth. The provision of the Magnuson Act on court juris- 



40 

 diction was enacted before the federal District Court for the 



41 



Northern Mariana Islands was established. The Magnuson Act 



provides that M [i]n the case of Guam, and any Commonwealth, ter- 

 ritory, or possession of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, 

 the appropriate court [for cases or controversies arising under 

 the Magnuson Act] is the United States District Court for the 



4f) 



Public Law 94-265, sec. 311(d), 90 Stat. 358 (1976), codi- 

 fied at 18 U.S.C. sec. 1861(d). 



41 Public Law 95-157, sec. 2, 91 Stat. 1266 (1977), codified as 

 amended at 48 U.S.C. sec. 1694a. 



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