[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6146 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6146

  To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit recognition and 
              enforcement of foreign defamation judgments.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2008

 Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Issa, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Coble, 
Mr. Berman, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Wexler, Ms. Jackson-Lee 
 of Texas, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Yarmuth, and Mr. 
 Johnson of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit recognition and 
              enforcement of foreign defamation judgments.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The first amendment of the Constitution of the United 
        States prohibits the abridgment of freedom of speech.
            (2) Freedom of speech is fundamental to the values of 
        American democracy.
            (3) In light of the constitutional protection our Nation 
        affords to freedom of speech, the Supreme Court has modified 
        the elements of the common law tort of defamation to provide 
        more protection for defendants than would be available at 
        common law, including providing special protections for 
        political speech.
            (4) The courts of other countries, including those that 
        otherwise share our Nation's common law and due process 
        traditions, are not constrained by the first amendment and thus 
        may provide less protection to defamation defendants than our 
        Constitution requires.
            (5) While our Nation's courts will generally enforce 
        foreign judgments as a matter of comity, comity does not 
        require that courts enforce foreign judgments that are 
        repugnant to our Nation's fundamental constitutional values, in 
        particular its strong protection of the right to freedom of 
        speech.
            (6) Our Nation's courts should only enforce foreign 
        judgments as a matter of comity when such foreign judgments are 
        consistent with the right to freedom of speech.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect the right to 
freedom of speech under the first amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States from the potentially weakening effects of foreign 
judgments concerning defamation.

SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION JUDGMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Part VI of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

                    ``CHAPTER 181--FOREIGN JUDGMENTS

``SEC. 4101 RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION JUDGMENTS.

    ``(a) First Amendment Considerations.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize 
or enforce a foreign judgment concerning defamation unless the domestic 
court determines that the foreign judgment is consistent with the first 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Court.--The term `court' means a court, 
        administrative body, or other tribunal.
            ``(2) Defamation.--The term `defamation' means libel, 
        slander, or any other cause of action primarily based on a 
        published communication.
            ``(3) Domestic court.--The term `domestic court' means a 
        State court or a Federal court.
            ``(4) Foreign court.--The term `foreign court' means a 
        court of a foreign country.
            ``(5) Foreign judgment.--The term `foreign judgment' means 
        a final judgment rendered by a foreign court.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part VI of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``181. Foreign Judgments....................................    4101''.
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