Overview
The Federated States of Micronesia is made up of four states; Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap. There are both national and state legal systems in place.
There have been no known HIV criminalisation cases in the Federated States of Micronesia to date. An HIV-specific law was prepared in 2005 but it was not enacted. The proposed law (section 611 of the Offences Against the Person Act) would have made it an offence for a person to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause, or attempt to cause, another person to acquire HIV.
Instead, the states’ general criminal laws may be applied, however we are not aware of any HIV criminalisation cases in any of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Laws
Offences Against the Person Act – NOT ENACTED
Section 611. Causing a person to contract the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
(1) A person who:
(a) intentionally or knowingly; or
(b) recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the valueof human life, causes another person, by any means, to contract any of the various strains of the human immunodeficiency virus or attempts, by any means, to cause another person to contract any of the various strains of the human immunodeficiency virus commits an offence.
(2) The maximum penalty for a person convicted of an offence pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is life imprisonment
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to Australian law firm Hall & Wilcox for their research assistance to confirm current relevant legislation.
