2.03.050 Applicable Law

(a) Civil disputes over which the Tribal Court has jurisdiction shall be decided by the Court in accordance with and by applying the following principles of law in the priority and precedence in which the principles of law are first identified below (higher priority and precedence being accorded those identified earliest in the list, so that in the event of inconsistency or conflict between principles of law, the principle of law identified earlier in the list shall be relied upon as the controlling principle for deciding the dispute):

(1) Such portions of the Constitution of the United States and federal law are clearly applicable in Mohawk Indian Country (with great weight given at all times to principles of the United States Constitution and federal Indian law which recognize Indian sovereignty, self-determination, and self-government, which render many federal and state laws inapplicable to federal Indian Country, which provide for a federal trust responsibility to Indian tribes, and which provide rules of legal interpretation favorable to Indian tribes);

(2) Written Mohawk laws adopted by the recognized governmental system of the Mohawk Tribe;

(3) Unwritten Mohawk laws, and written and unwritten Mohawk customs, traditions and practices, whenever such Mohawk laws, customs, traditions or practices are found by the Mohawk Court to be (i) well-established within the Tribe and recognized by Tribal members, (ii) applicable or relevant to the dispute in issue, and (iii) not inconsistent with due process and other rights established under Tribal law;

(4) Generally recognized principles of the law of contracts (including quasi-contracts or imperfectly formed invalid contracts), as reflected by the most recent Restatement of Contracts or in such expert treatises as the Court may choose to recognize or as the Court may otherwise determine;

(5) Generally recognized principles of the law of torts, as reflected by the most recent Restatement of Torts or in such expert treatises as the Court may choose to recognize or as the Court may otherwise determine;

(6) If (but only if) consistent with principles of Tribal sovereignty, self- government, and self-determination, and if (but only if) consistent with principles of law identified earlier in this section, New York State laws on contracts and torts.

(b) Principles of New York State law for resolving private civil disputes are not automatically applied in Mohawk Courts. Principles of New York State law for resolving private civil disputes may be applied in Mohawk Courts for the purpose of resolving a private civil dispute over which the Mohawk Court has jurisdiction if (but only if) the Mohawk Court finds: (i) there is no other controlling principle of Mohawk law; (ii) application of the New York State law is consistent with principles of Tribal sovereignty, self-government, and self-determination; and (iii) application of the New York State law is in the overall interest of justice and fairness to the parties.