English
The national government charged the defendant with having killed five sea turtles.
The defendant sought dismissal of the case on the grounds that the killings occurred less than twelve miles from the baseline of the island and that the act therefore fell within state jurisdiction rather than national jurisdiction. The national government thus had no right to enforce the killing of the sea turtles.
The law that prohibited the killing of sea turtles were applicable throughout all marine space within the Federal States of Micronesia, however, the national government is not supposed to enforce the legislation within the twelve mile zone. It was established in the constitution that the national congress has control beyond twelve miles.
The national government could not prove that the act had taken place beyond the twelve-mile zone. Thus it had no right to enforce the killing of the turtles.
The Court did not rule out the possibility that national powers could perhaps overlap or encroach upon powers allocated to the states, however, it meant that it should lie with the Congress in that case to determine if such power should be exercised. This could perhaps be necessary do to treaties requiring the government to protect sea turtles within its waters.