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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1609. Limitation of actions
(a) Complaint, time for filing; jurisdiction; commencement by State
official; certainty and finality of vested rights, titles, and
interests
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any civil action to
contest the authority of the United States to legislate on the
subject matter or the legality of this chapter shall be barred
unless the complaint is filed within one year of December 18, 1971,
and no such action shall be entertained unless it is commenced by a
duly authorized official of the State. Exclusive jurisdiction over
such action is hereby vested in the United States District Court
for the District of Alaska. The purpose of this limitation on suits
is to insure that, after the expiration of a reasonable period of
time, the right, title, and interest of the United States, the
Natives, and the State of Alaska will vest with certainty and
finality and may be relied upon by all other persons in their
relations with the State, the Natives, and the United States.
(b) Land selection; suspension and extension of rights
In the event that the State initiates litigation or voluntarily
becomes a party to litigation to contest the authority of the
United States to legislate on the subject matter or the legality of
this chapter, all rights of land selection granted to the State by
the Alaska Statehood Act shall be suspended as to any public lands
which are determined by the Secretary to be potentially valuable
for mineral development, timber, or other commercial purposes, and
no selections shall be made, no tentative approvals shall be
granted, and no patents shall be issued for such lands during the
pendency of such litigation. In the event of such suspension, the
State's right of land selection pursuant to section 6 of the Alaska
Statehood Act shall be extended for a period of time equal to the
period of time the selection right was suspended.
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