Micronesia

• The Constitution of 1979, the highest law
• National and state laws, and American-style common law
• Customary and traditional law, which the Constitution recognises
• Decisions of the Supreme Court and the state courts

• The Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia, with trial and appellate divisions
• State courts in each of the four states (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap)
• Traditional and local courts in some states

A law degree, usually from the United States, and admission to practise by the Supreme Court.

• It is a federation of four small states, each with its own court system.
• Traditional leaders have formal roles in some states, such as in Yap and Pohnpei.
• Its tie to the United States is a Compact of Free Association, not a territorial status.

Marshall Islands, Palau, United States, Fiji, Papua New Guinea

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Micronesia as: Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica.

• PacLII: Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute
• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.