ARTICLE IX. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Section 1. Right to a System of Local Government
- The people of every populated atoll or island that is not part of an atoll shall have the right to a system of local government which shall operate in accordance with any applicable law.
- The system of local government shall in each case extend to the sea and the seabed of the internal waters of the atoll or island and to the surrounding sea and seabed to a distance of 5 miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea of that atoll or island is measured.
- The whole of the land and sea areas to which any system of local government extends shall lie within the jurisdiction of a local government; and, where there is more than one local government, the land and sea boundaries of their respective jurisdictions shall be as defined by law.
Section 2. Power to Make Ordinances
- A local government may make ordinances for the area in respect of which it has jurisdiction, provided that such ordinances are not inconsistent with any Act, or, to the extent that it has the force of law in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, with any other legislative instrument (other than a municipal ordinance) or any executive instrument.
- Without limiting the generality of the power conferred by paragraph (1) of this Section, an ordinance may provide for the levying of taxes and for the appropriation of funds for local purposes.
