On May 22, President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. administered the oath of office of Chief Justice Alexander C. Castro of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island (CNMI) Judiciary as the newest and the fourth non-resident Associate Justice of the Appellate Division of the Palau Supreme Court during his swearing-in ceremony at the Judiciary Building in Ngerulmud, Melekeok.
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President Remengesau congratulated and welcomed Associate Justice Castro to the Palau Judiciary stating, “Associate Justice Castro is an experienced and knowledgeable judge with a deep connection to Palau. I thank him for accepting Palau’s invitation to join the bench.”
As the fourth non-resident Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Castro joins Associate Justice Dennis K. Yamase of FSM Supreme Court who sworn-in to the Appellate Division on March 14 and Kevin Bennardo, a law professor at University of North Carolina who is scheduled to take his oath of office in July.
Each appointed and sworn-in non-resident Associate Justices as explained by Chief Justice Ngiraklsong during the ceremony have some connection and experience with the Palau Supreme Court and the Republic of Palau, and will greatly contribute efforts in discharging of cases before the Appellate Division. Since January 2017, the Court has identified 24 conflict of interest cases that will require the Associate Justices of the Appellate Division’s attention and action.
Castro has served as a Judge for more than 28 years in the CNMI Supreme Court. He has also served various positions in law for more than a decade including CNMI’s Attorney General. [/restrict]