Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102
§3631 Tribal Authority
Title 25 › CHAPTER 38 — INDIAN TRIBAL JUSTICE SUPPORT › SUBCHAPTER III — DISCLAIMERS › § 3631
Summary
Protects tribal governments' control over their courts and legal systems. Nothing here can take away a tribe’s power to decide how its justice system works, to make and enforce its laws, to hire or appoint staff, or to choose who has legal authority. It also does not allow changing traditional dispute-resolution methods, treating tribal courts as part of the U.S. government, or reducing the U.S. government's duty to tribal governments and their justice systems.
Full Legal Text
Title 25, §3631
Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to—
(1)encroach upon or diminish in any way the inherent sovereign authority of each tribal government to determine the role of the tribal justice system within the tribal government or to enact and enforce tribal laws;
(2)diminish in any way the authority of tribal governments to appoint personnel;
(3)impair the rights of each tribal government to determine the nature of its own legal system or the appointment of authority within the tribal government;
(4)alter in any way any tribal traditional dispute resolution forum;
(5)imply that any tribal justice system is an instrumentality of the United States; or
(6)diminish the trust responsibility of the United States to Indian tribal governments and tribal justice systems of such governments.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 3631
Title 25, Indians
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102