§ 1402. Definitions
TITLE 8: FAMILY LAW AND PROBATE DIVISION 1: DOMESTIC RELATIONS § 1402. Who May be Adopted. Any resident under the age of 18 years may be adopted under this chapter; provided, that the Superior Court shall have the discretion to allow for the adoption of residents over the age of 18 years if the proposed adoption of such persons is found to be in conformance with local culture or custom and the court is satisfied that such adoption is not for the purpose of circumventing or evading the laws of the Commonwealth or of the United States of America. Source: PL 8-42, § 4; amended by PL 10-86, § 1(b). Commission Comment: PL 10-86 contains severability and savings clauses as follows: Section 2. Severability. If any provision of this Act or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance should be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act or the application of its provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby. Section 3. Savings Clause. This Act and any repealer contained herein shall not be construed as affecting any existing right acquired under contract or acquired under statutes repealed or under any rule, regulation or order adopted under the statutes. Repealers contained in this Act shall not affect any proceeding instituted under or pursuant to prior law. The enactment of this Act shall not have the effect of terminating, or in any way modifying, any liability, civil or criminal, which shall already be in existence at the date this Act becomes effective.
Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission