On June 11, 2020, the Judiciary submitted the NMI Judiciary Procurement Rules, attached as Exhibit A, to the Twenty-First Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature for approval. Article IV, Section 9(a) of the NMI Constitution provides that proposed rules become effective sixty days after submission unless disapproved by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives or the Senate. On July 16, 2020, the House of Representatives unanimously approved the Procurement Rules, and the Senate has not disapproved the Procurement Rules during the sixty-day period.

As background, in 1991, the National Center for State Courts (“NCSC”) proposed a number of recommendations to reinforce the NMI Judiciary’s independence as a co-equal and separate branch of government. The Judiciary’s administrative control over its procurement is among the recommendations. Consequently, these Procurement Rules were developed to secure the institutional and administrative independence of the Judiciary in exercising a number of functions. >> see more