48 U.S.C. § 1611 — District Court of Virgin Islands; local courts; jurisdiction; practice and procedure

(a) District Court of Virgin Islands; local courts The judicial power of the Virgin Islands must be vested in a court of record designated the “District Court of the Virgin Islands” established by Congress, and in such appellate court and lower local courts as may have been or may hereafter be established by local law. (b) Jurisdiction The legislature of the Virgin Islands may vest in the courts of the Virgin Islands established by local law jurisdiction over all causes in the Virgin Islands over which any court established by the Constitution and laws of the United States does not have exclusive jurisdiction. Such jurisdiction must be subject to the concurrent jurisdiction conferred on the District Court of the Virgin Islands by section 1612(a) and (c) of this title. (c) Practice and procedure The rules governing the practice and procedure of the courts established by local law and those prescribing the qualifications and duties of the judges and officers of it, oaths and bonds, and the times and places of holding court must be governed by local law or the rules promulgated by those courts.