H.J.R. 17-36 was introduced by Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan.
It was co-sponsored by Speaker Eli D. Cabrera, R-Saipan; House Floor Leader George N. Camacho, Ind.-Saipan; Reps. Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan; Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan; Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan; Sylvestre I. Iguel, Covenant-Saipan; Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan; and Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan.
The resolution cited the 1947 United Nations trusteeship agreement requiring the U.S. “to promote the economic advancement and self-sufficiency of the inhabitants and to this end, regulate the use of natural resources, and to protect the inhabitants against the loss of their lands and resources.”
In March 1976, the Covenant, which the people of the NMI ratified, became a U.S. law and made the islands part of America.
In March 1983, the resolution stated, the U.S. president proclaimed the establishment of exclusive economic zone along the coasts of the U.S. including that of the CNMI.
The EEZ extends to a 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
The U.S. District Court for the NMI ruled in 2003 that the lands belonged to the U.S. The CNMI filed an appeal but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the ruling in 2005.
According to the resolution ,the Ninth Circuit’s opinion “erred in assuming that the Covenant permitted U.S. to assume absolute dominion over the NMI and failed to recognize that the Covenant preserved specific areas of autonomy, property ownership and self-governance by persons of Northern Marianas Descent.”
It also failed to recognize that any ambiguity in the Covenant must be construed by “common cannons of interpretation and numerous federal court precedents, against the U.S. as the trustee of the NMI,” the resolution stated.
