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48 U.S.C. § 1541 — Organization and status

Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1541 — Organization and status

**(a) Composition and territorial designation** The provisions of this chapter and the name “Virgin Islands” as used in this chapter, shall apply to and include the territorial domain, islands, cays, and waters acquired by the United States through cession of the Danish West Indian Islands by the convention between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Denmark entered into August 4, 1916, and ratified by the Senate on September 7, 1916 (39 Stat. 1706). The Virgin Islands as above described are declared an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. **(b) Powers and legal status of government; capital and seat of government** The government of the Virgin Islands shall have the powers set forth in this chapter and shall have the right to sue by such name and in cases arising out of contract, to be sued: Provided, That no tort action shall be brought against the government of the Virgin Islands or against any officer or employee thereof in his official capacity without the consent of the legislature constituted by this chapter. The capital and seat of government of the Virgin Islands shall be located at the city of Charlotte Amalie, in the island of Saint Thomas. **(c) Administrative supervision by Secretary of the Interior** The relations between such government and the Federal Government in all matters not the program responsibility of another Federal department or agency shall be under the general administrative supervision of the Secretary of the Interior.

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Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-48/section-1541-organization-and-status--e03a3cdb4b.md
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Source location: Title 48, Chapter 12, § 1541; chapter-012-virgin-islands-1954.md

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

10 U.S.C. § 336 — Repealed. Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(11)(B), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2921]

### Statutory Notes Section, added Pub. L. 90–496, § 12, Aug. 23, 1968, 82 Stat. 841, included Virgin Islands within “State”. See [section 255 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section255&num=0&edition=prelim). #### Effective Date of Repeal Repeal effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701(b)(3) of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an Effective Date of 1980 Amendment note under [section 101 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section101&num=0&edition=prelim).

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5 U.S.C. § 551 — Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter— (1) “agency” means each authority of the Government of the United States, whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency, but does not include— (A) the Congress; (B) the courts of the United States; (C) the governments of the territories or possessions of the United States; (D) the government of the District of Columbia; or except as to the requirements of [section 552 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section552&num=0&edition=prelim)— (E) agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them; (F) courts martial and military commissions; (G) military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in occupied territory; or (H) functions conferred by sections 1738, 1739, 1743, and 1744 of title 12; subchapter II of chapter 471 of title 49; or sections 1884, 1891–1902, and former section 1641(b)(2), of title 50, appendix; 11 See References in Text note below. (2) “person” includes an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency; (3) “party” includes a person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party, in an agency proceeding, and a person or agency admitted by an agency as a party for limited purposes; (4) “rule” means the whole or a part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of an agency and includes the approval or prescription for the future of rates, wa

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

31 U.S.C. § 1342 — Limitation on voluntary services

An officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government may not accept voluntary services for either government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property. This section does not apply to a corporation getting amounts to make loans (except paid in capital amounts) without legal liability of the United States Government. As used in this section, the term “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property” does not include ongoing, regular functions of government the suspension of which would not imminently threaten the safety of human life or the protection of property.

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1591 — Governor and Lieutenant Governor; election; eligibility; official residence; powers and duties; report

The executive power of the Virgin Islands shall be vested in an executive officer whose official title shall be the “Governor of the Virgin Islands”. The Governor of the Virgin Islands, together with the Lieutenant Governor, shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast by the people who are qualified to vote for the members of the legislature of the Virgin Islands. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly, by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both officers. If no candidates receive a majority of the votes cast in any election, on the fourteenth day thereafter a run-off election shall be held between the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast. The first election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be held on November 3, 1970. Thereafter, beginning with the year 1974, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected every four years at the general election. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall hold office for a term of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. No person who has been elected Governor for two full successive terms shall be again eligible to hold that office until one full term has intervened. The term of the elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall commence on the first Monday of January following the date of election.

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1469a–1 — Full amounts to be covered into treasuries of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands; reductions prohibited

Pursuant to the terms of the Organic Act of Guam (64 Stat. 384), as amended [[48 U.S.C. 1421](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section1421&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.]; the Joint resolution to Approve the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union With the United States of America (90 Stat. 263), as amended [[48 U.S.C. 1801](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section1801&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.]; the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act (64 Stat. 319), as amended and supplemented [[48 U.S.C. 731](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section731&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.]; and the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (86 11 So in original. Probably should be “68”. Stat. 497), as amended and supplemented [[48 U.S.C. 1541](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section1541&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.] and an Act to authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes (92 Stat. 487), as amended; there shall be paid into the treasuries of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands respectively the full amounts which are to be covered into the treasuries of said islands or paid pursuant to said laws as amended and supplemented and such amounts shall not be reduced, notwithstanding Public Law 99–177, Public Law 99–366, or any other provision of law.

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1561 — Rights and prohibitions

No law shall be enacted in the Virgin Islands which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or deny to any person therein equal protection of the laws.

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1572 — Legislators

**(a) Terms of office** The term of office of each member of the legislature shall be two years. The term of office of each member shall commence on the second Monday in January following his election: Provided, however, That the term of office of each member elected in November 1958 shall commence on the second Monday in April 1959 and shall continue until the second Monday in April 1961, and the term of office of each member elected in November 1960 shall commence on the second Monday in April 1961 and continue until the second Monday in January 1963. **(b) Qualifications of members** No person shall be eligible to be a member of the legislature who is not a citizen of the United States, who has not attained the age of twenty-one years, who is not a qualified voter in the Virgin Islands, who has not been a bona fide resident of the Virgin Islands for at least three years next preceding the date of his election, or who has been convicted of a felony or of a crime involving moral turpitude and has not received a pardon restoring his civil rights. Federal employees and persons employed in the legislative, executive or judicial branches of the government of the Virgin Islands shall not be eligible for membership in the legislature. **(c) Appointment of electoral officers; popular election of members of boards of election** All officers and employees charged with the duty of directing the administration of the electoral system of the Virgin Islands and its representative districts shall be appointed in such manner as the legislature may by law direct: Provided, however, That members of boards of elections, which entities of government have been duly organized and established by the government of the Virgin Islands, shall be popularly elected. **(d) Immunity of members**

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1612 — Jurisdiction of District Court

**(a) Jurisdiction** The District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have the jurisdiction of a District Court of the United States, including, but not limited to, the diversity jurisdiction provided for in [section 1332 of title 28](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title28-section1332&num=0&edition=prelim) and that of a bankruptcy court of the United States. The District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all criminal and civil proceedings in the Virgin Islands with respect to the income tax laws applicable to the Virgin Islands, regardless of the degree of the offense or of the amount involved, except the ancillary laws relating to the income tax enacted by the legislature of the Virgin Islands. Any act or failure to act with respect to the income tax laws applicable to the Virgin Islands which would constitute a criminal offense described in chapter 75 of subtitle F of title 26 shall constitute an offense against the government of the Virgin Islands and may be prosecuted in the name of the government of the Virgin Islands by the appropriate officers thereof in the District Court of the Virgin Islands without the request or the consent of the United States attorney for the Virgin Islands, notwithstanding the provisions of [section 1617 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section1617&num=0&edition=prelim). **(b) General jurisdiction; limitations** In addition to the jurisdiction described in subsection (a) the District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have general original jurisdiction in all causes in the Virgin Islands the jurisdiction over which is not then vested by local law in the local courts of the Virgin Islands: Provided, That the jurisdiction of the D

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1613a — Appellate jurisdiction of District Court; procedure; review by United States Court of Appeals for Third Circuit; rules; appeals to appellate court

**(a) Appellate jurisdiction of District Court** Prior to the establishment of the appellate court authorized by [section 1611(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title48-section1611/a&num=0&edition=prelim), the District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have such appellate jurisdiction over the courts of the Virgin Islands established by local law to the extent now or hereafter prescribed by local law: Provided, That the legislature may not preclude the review of any judgment or order which involves the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including this chapter, or any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the Government of the United States, or the conformity of any law enacted by the legislature of the Virgin Islands or of any order or regulation issued or action taken by the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands with the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including this chapter, or any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the United States. **(b) Appellate division of District Court; quorum; presiding judge; designation of judges; decisions** Appeals to the District Court of the Virgin Islands shall be heard and determined by an appellate division of the court consisting of three judges, of whom two shall constitute a quorum. The chief judge of the district court shall be the presiding judge of the appellate division and shall preside therein unless disqualified or otherwise unable to act. The other judges who are to sit in the appellate division at any session shall be designated by the presiding judge from among the judges who are serving on, or are assigned to, the district court from time to time pursuant to [section 1614(a

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

48 U.S.C. § 1614 — Judges of District Court

**(a) Appointment; tenure; removal; chief judge; compensation** The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint two judges for the District Court of the Virgin Islands, who shall hold office for terms of ten years and until their successors are chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President for cause. The judge of the district court who is senior in continuous service and who otherwise qualifies under [section 136(a) of title 28](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title28-section136/a&num=0&edition=prelim) shall be the chief judge of the court. The salary of a judge of the district court shall be at the rate prescribed for judges of the United States district courts. Whenever it is made to appear that such an assignment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the district court, the chief judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of the United States may assign a judge of a court of record of the Virgin Islands established by local law, or a circuit or district judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, or a recalled senior judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, or the Chief Justice of the United States may assign any other United States circuit or district judge with the consent of the judge so assigned and of the chief judge of his circuit, to serve temporarily as a judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The compensation of the judges of the district court and the administrative expenses of the court shall be paid from appropriations made for the judiciary of the United States. **(b) Criminal offenses; procedure; definitions; indictment and information** Where appropriate, the provisions of part II of title 18 and of title 28 and, notwithstanding the provisions of rule

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