You've effectively just admitted that obeying Tribunal law is not fundamental to being a paladin at all - in which case why include it in the paladin code? After all, you and I both know that the rationale behind article 9 has nothing to do with the essential 'goodness' of the laws of the land, but is rather designed to avoid the undesireable consequences of getting wanted and having to fight good-aligned guards. It is a tautology - subsumed by the other bits of the code that say 'don't intentionally harm those of the light'. So get rid of it.

I mean. I'd rather keep the rule and just ban all paladins from attacking in town for game balance reasons, but at least this way less n00bs will think Galadon is safe with a paladin is in range, and will not get assbagged by the cheap hidden room summon trick.

Maybe you could also address what I see as the blatant double standards in play. I recently had an char (Jysste) straight anathed by a snooping IMM for attacking a village applicant in Seantryn with no Tribunal present (no chance to argue situationally that Imperial law was being served, in the same way that a paladin would defend himself to charges that he was dishonouring the code). Also I had a very in depth conversatino with Baerinika about this very topic with my paladin (who also got a smack on the wrist for attacking in town). Her argument boiled down to "innocents might get harmed by fighting in town". If that's good enough for the patron IMM of Fort, it should be good enough for all paladins.