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In a landmark ruling, the High Court of the Marshall Islands concludes that naturalized citizens have the constitutional right to run as candidates for the country’s parliament.
Judge Dinsmore Tuttle’s motion for summary judgment this week was granted in favor of Jack Niedenthal declaring his qualification as a candidate reports Radio New Zealand.
Niedenthal, who is best known for his award-winning films of the Marshall Islands, has been a naturalized citizen of the country since 2000, and has voted in three national elections.
In November 2014, RMI’s chief electoral denied Niedenthal’s petition for candidacy because he did not meet requirements for a candidate set by the parliament. The requirements include having one parent of Marshallese decent and traditional land rights through a lineage.
Judge Tuttle ruled that the parliament does not have the power to prescribe the eligibility qualifications of the Elections and Referenda Act. Further adding, the government points to no legal authority for its position that the parliament has any inherent constitutional power to make laws, or any power other than that power granted by the constitution.