Navajo Agricultural Products Industry waiver of tribal Arbitration and Sovereign Immunity laws moves to Council

NAVAJO COUNCIL NAABIK’IYATI COMMITTEE NOW ON LEGISLATION 0092-14, AMEND NAVAJO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY PLAN OF OPERATION TO AUTHORIZE NAPI TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS THAT ASK FOR BINDING ARBITRATION AS THE MECHANISM FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES, CONSISTENT WITH THE NAVAJO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY ACT AND THE NAVAJO ARBITRATION ACT BUT WITHOUT REQUIRING REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF SUCH AGREEMENTS BY THE NAVAJO NATION DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
This approval for enterprises, such as Navajo Transitional Energy Company, to waive tribal sovereign immunity law is scary. There was a reason that that authority was only with the Council. And NDOJ should identify checks and balances and require notification from all all the enterprises about what they are waiving sovereign immunity for. Let’s wait until we have process in place.

In understand business justification that they need waiver immediate but we should wait and not pass this.

DELEGATE DANNY SIMPSON
Why is NDOJ explaining why NDOJ doesn’t want to be involved. Ill have Karis Begay explain.

NDOJ ATTORNEY KARIS BEGAYE
we simply review arbitration clause to make sure in compliance with tribal arbitration law and sovereign immunity law. we don’t get involved in agreements between tribal enterprises and other companies.

DELEGATE ALTON SHEPHERD
i understand that NAPI got into “risky stuff” that NDOJ had to get them out of and so this appears to be “piercing” Navajo sovereign immunity veil for lawsuits.

NDOJ DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL DANA BOBROFF
in navajo code lot of definitions for enterprises and becoming problamatic. the tribally owned entities if statutory enterprise or authority or LLC or section 17 and so each has different establishments so there are provisions for enabling legislation/statutory plan of operations. but under tribal arbitration law and sovereign immunity law, NDOJ signs off to make sure everyone’s rights are protected.

NDOJ ATTORNEY KARIS BEGAYE
This legislation 0092-14 is setting precedence. We created standard arbitration law for casinos. I’m a bit concerned because language not in 0092-14 and we want to make sure that their arbitration language is same as tribal arbitration law.

SPEAKER PRO TEMP BATES
cud i recommend that Naabi handle this by directing tribal attorneys to work on correct legal language so council has when 0092-14 gets to council.

DELEGATE DANNY SIMPSON
i recommend that we wait until we get correct legal language.

DELEGATE WALTER PHELPS
this takes NAPI out of NDOJ review for arbitration law and sovereign immunity law and Naabi agrees. Will this language be included when plan to sell beans to Cuba or Mexico. These are international contracts and so are we saying we don’t care. I don’t think so. This needs to be thoroughly reviewed by tribal justice department. NAPI has done great in marketing outside U.S. But I think this language sort of gives them, i guess, quite an amount of liberty and so i want to make sure that we do this with our eyes wide open.

DELEGATE RUSSELL BEGAYE
It seems like NAPI wants no approval by NDOJ of tribal arbitration. so does that mean they want to come up with own arbitration laws?

NDOJ KARIS BEGAYE
Binding arbitration is final say in dispute and not take any further. NAPI wants to its contracts that go into dispute will go into arbitration without review of NDOJ which is contrary to arbitration act.

VOTE ON 0092-14
8 in favor, 3 opposed
Move to Council

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