(1) Authority. Nothing in this Code shall prevent persons who are involved in a dispute from submitting their dispute to persons, organizations, or agencies outside the Tribal Court for resolution in an informal manner, unless Tribal law specifies otherwise.

(2) Initiating Informal Dispute Resolution. Any party to a suit, or the judge upon their own motion, may request that the parties attempt to resolve their dispute by using a third-party mediator or a mediation panel.

(3) Agreed Dispositions. Where the parties are able to agree upon a mutually acceptable resolution, the terms of the agreement shall be put in writing and signed by the parties, and notice of settlement shall promptly be filed with the Tribal Court.

(4) Limits on Evidence – Subsequent Proceedings. In order to encourage full disclosure and cooperation between the parties, substantive information that was obtained at an informal dispute resolution hearing may not be admitted into evidence at a later hearing or proceeding unless the parties agree otherwise.

(5) Failure to Reach a Settlement. If a party fails to appear at a scheduled mediation hearing, and the mediation hearing was ordered by the judge, or the parties fail to reach agreement due exclusively to the unreasonable negotiations or refusal to negotiate by a party, then the mediator shall report to the judge on the reason(s) for a failure to reach agreement. If the parties fail to reach agreement despite reasonable, good-faith negotiation, then the mediator shall report only that there was a failure following reasonable good faith efforts. [Res. 24-44, 2024.]