11.02.030 Tribal Court Jurisdiction

(a) The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court may exercise subject matter jurisdiction over the

proceedings and law set forth in this Act.

(b) The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a party in marriage, divorce, and/or custody when:

(1) a party or the child is a Tribal Member;

(2) a party or the child resides or is domiciled within the Tribe's Reservation;

(3) the non-Indian or non-member party has consented to the jurisdiction of the Tribe by:

(A) express contractual consent;

(B) residing or domiciling within the Tribe's Reservation;

(C) being employed as a contract, temporary, or regular employee of the Tribe or a tribal business located on the Reservation;

(D) engaging in consensual relations or a domestic relationship with a Tribal Member on the Reservation; or

(E) participating in any other substantial activity within the territorial jurisdiction of the Tribe that impacts the political integrity, the economic security, or the health and welfare of the Tribe and its members.

(c) To dissolve a marriage and grant a judgment of divorce, the Tribal Court shall have subject matter jurisdiction in the following circumstances:

(1) if there are children, the Petitioner must have resided within the Reservation for one-hundred eighty (180) days immediately preceding the filing of the Petition; or

(2) if there are no children, the Petitioner must have resided within the Reservation for thirty (30) days immediately preceding the filing of the Petition; or

(3) if the marriage which is the subject of the Petition occurred under this chapter unless neither of the parties resided within the Reservation for thirty (30) days immediately preceding the filing of the Petition if there are no children or one-hundred eighty (180) days if there are children.

(d) Where the method of procedure in any proceeding in which the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court has jurisdiction under this chapter is not prescribed, the procedure shall be in accord with the Tribe's Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent they are suitable to the proceeding involved. If there is any conflict between the application of any provision under this chapter or any other provision of tribal law, this chapter governing the proceeding shall control.