II 

Calendar No. 460 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2765 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JULY 14, 2010 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

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

and certain foreign judgments against the providers of 

interactive computer services. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION 

4 JUDGMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States 

6 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 181—FOREIGN JUDGMENTS 

‘‘Sec. 


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‘‘4101. Definitions. 

‘‘4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments. 

‘‘4103. Attorneys’ fees. 

1 ‘‘§ 4101. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this chapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) DOMESTIC COURT.—The term ‘domestic 

4 court’ means a Federal court or a court of any 

5 State. 

6 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN COURT.—The term ‘foreign 

7 court’ means a court, administrative body, or other 

8 tribunal of a foreign country. 

9 ‘‘(3) FOREIGN JUDGMENT.—The term ‘foreign 

10 judgment’ means a final judgment rendered by a 

11 foreign court. 

12 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

13 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

14 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘§ 4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments 

17 ‘‘(a) FIRST AMENDMENT CONSIDERATIONS.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, 

19 a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign 

20 judgment for defamation whenever the party opposing rec21 ognition or enforcement of the judgment claims that the 

22 judgment is inconsistent with the first amendment to the 

23 Constitution of the United States, unless the domestic 

24 court determines that the judgment is consistent with the 


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1 first amendment. The burden of establishing that the for2 eign judgment is consistent with the first amendment shall 

3 lie with the party seeking recognition or enforcement of 

4 the judgment. 

5 ‘‘(b) JURISDICTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of Federal or State law, a 

7 domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign 

8 judgment for defamation if the party opposing recognition 

9 or enforcement establishes that the exercise of personal 

10 jurisdiction over such party by the foreign court that ren11 dered the judgment failed to comport with the due process 

12 requirements imposed on domestic courts by the Constitu13 tion of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(c) JUDGMENT AGAINST PROVIDER OF INTER15 ACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall 

17 not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defama18 tion against the provider of an interactive computer serv19 ice, as defined in section 230 of the Communications Act 

20 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230), whenever the party opposing rec21 ognition or enforcement of the judgment claims that the 

22 judgment is inconsistent with such section 230, unless the 

23 domestic court determines that the judgment is consistent 

24 with such section 230. The burden of establishing that the 

25 foreign judgment is consistent with such section 230 shall 


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1 lie with the party seeking recognition or enforcement of 

2 the judgment. 

3 ‘‘(d) APPEARANCES NOT A BAR.—An appearance by 

4 a party in a foreign court rendering a foreign judgment 

5 to which this section applies for the purpose of contesting 

6 the foreign court’s exercise of jurisdiction in the case, mov7 ing the foreign court to abstain from exercising jurisdic8 tion in the case, defending on the merits any claims 

9 brought before the foreign court, or for any other purpose, 

10 shall not deprive such party of the right to oppose the 

11 recognition or enforcement of the judgment under this sec12 tion. 

13 ‘‘§ 4103. Attorneys’ fees 

14 ‘‘In any action brought in a domestic court to enforce 

15 a foreign judgment for defamation, the court may allow 

16 the party opposing recognition or enforcement of the judg17 ment a reasonable attorney’s fee if such party prevails in 

18 the action on a ground specified in subsection (a), (b), 

19 or (c) of section 4102.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

21 for part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘181. Foreign Judgments ................................................................ 4101’’. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing the Protection 

3 of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage 

4 Act’’ or the ‘‘SPEECH Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The freedom of speech and the press is en8 shrined in the first amendment to the Constitution, 

9 and is necessary to promote the vigorous dialogue nec10 essary to shape public policy in a representative de11 mocracy. 

12 (2) Some persons are obstructing the free expres13 sion rights of United States authors and publishers, 

14 and in turn chilling the first amendment to the Con15 stitution of the United States interest of the citizenry 

16 in receiving information on matters of importance, by 

17 seeking out foreign jurisdictions that do not provide 

18 the full extent of free-speech protections to authors 

19 and publishers that are available in the United 

20 States, and suing a United States author or publisher 

21 in that foreign jurisdiction. 

22 (3) These foreign defamation lawsuits not only 

23 suppress the free speech rights of the defendants to the 

24 suit, but inhibit other written speech that might oth25 erwise have been written or published but for the fear 

26 of a foreign lawsuit. 


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1 (4) The threat of the libel laws of some foreign 

2 countries is so dramatic that the United Nations 

3 Human Rights Committee examined the issue and in4 dicated that in some instances the law of libel has 

5 served to discourage critical media reporting on mat6 ters of serious public interest, adversely affecting the 

7 ability of scholars and journalists to publish their 

8 work. The advent of the internet and the inter9 national distribution of foreign media also create the 

10 danger that one country’s unduly restrictive libel law 

11 will affect freedom of expression worldwide on matters 

12 of valid public interest. 

13 (5) Governments and courts of foreign countries 

14 scattered around the world have failed to curtail this 

15 practice of permitting libel lawsuits against United 

16 States persons within their courts, and foreign libel 

17 judgments inconsistent with United States first 

18 amendment protections are increasingly common. 

19 SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION JUDG20 MENTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States 

22 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘CHAPTER 181—FOREIGN JUDGMENTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘4101. Definitions. 

‘‘4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments. 

‘‘4103. Removal. 


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‘‘4104. Declaratory judgments. 

‘‘4105. Attorney’s fees. 

1 ‘‘§ 4101. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this chapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) DEFAMATION.—The term ‘defamation’ 

4 means any action or other proceeding for defamation, 

5 libel, slander, or similar claim alleging that forms of 

6 speech are false, have caused damage to reputation or 

7 emotional distress, have presented any person in a 

8 false light, or have resulted in criticism, dishonor, or 

9 condemnation of any person. 

10 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC COURT.—The term ‘domestic 

11 court’ means a Federal court or a court of any State. 

12 ‘‘(3) FOREIGN COURT.—The term ‘foreign court’ 

13 means a court, administrative body, or other tribunal 

14 of a foreign country. 

15 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN JUDGMENT.—The term ‘foreign 

16 judgment’ means a final judgment rendered by a for17 eign court. 

18 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 

19 several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

20 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

21 States. 

22 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

23 ‘United States person’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) a United States citizen; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an alien lawfully admitted for perma2 nent residence to the United States; 

3 ‘‘(C) an alien lawfully residing in the 

4 United States at the time that the speech that is 

5 the subject of the foreign defamation action was 

6 researched, prepared, or disseminated; or 

7 ‘‘(D) a business entity incorporated in, or 

8 with its primary location or place of operation 

9 in, the United States. 

10 ‘‘§ 4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments 

11 ‘‘(a) FIRST AMENDMENT CONSIDERATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

14 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

15 defamation unless the domestic court determines 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the defamation law applied in the for18 eign court’s adjudication provided at least as 

19 much protection for freedom of speech and press 

20 in that case as would be provided by the first 

21 amendment to the Constitution of the United 

22 States and by the constitution and law of the 

23 State in which the domestic court is located; or 

24 ‘‘(B) even if the defamation law applied in 

25 the foreign court’s adjudication did not provide 


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1 as much protection for freedom of speech and 

2 press as the first amendment to the Constitution 

3 of the United States and the constitution and 

4 law of the State, the party opposing recognition 

5 or enforcement of that foreign judgment would 

6 have been found liable for defamation by a do7 mestic court applying the first amendment to the 

8 Constitution of the United States and the con9 stitution and law of the State in which the do10 mestic court is located. 

11 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING APPLICATION OF

12 DEFAMATION LAWS.—The party seeking recognition or 

13 enforcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the 

14 burden of making the showings required under sub15 paragraph (A) or (B). 

16 ‘‘(b) JURISDICTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

19 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

20 defamation unless the domestic court determines that 

21 the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the foreign 

22 court comported with the due process requirements 

23 that are imposed on domestic courts by the Constitu24 tion of the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING EXERCISE OF

2 JURISDICTION.—The party seeking recognition or en3 forcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the bur4 den of making the showing that the foreign court’s ex5 ercise of personal jurisdiction comported with the due 

6 process requirements that are imposed on domestic 

7 courts by the Constitution of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(c) JUDGMENT AGAINST PROVIDER OF INTERACTIVE

9 COMPUTER SERVICE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

12 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

13 defamation against the provider of an interactive 

14 computer service, as defined in section 230 of the 

15 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) unless 

16 the domestic court determines that the judgment 

17 would be consistent with section 230 if the informa18 tion that is the subject of such judgment had been pro19 vided in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING CONSISTENCY

21 OF JUDGMENT.—The party seeking recognition or en22 forcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the bur23 den of establishing that the judgment is consistent 

24 with section 230. 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPEARANCES NOT A BAR.—An appearance by 

2 a party in a foreign court rendering a foreign judgment 

3 to which this section applies shall not deprive such party 

4 of the right to oppose the recognition or enforcement of the 

5 judgment under this section, or represent a waiver of any 

6 jurisdictional claims. 

7 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion shall be construed to— 

9 ‘‘(1) affect the enforceability of any foreign judg10 ment other than a foreign judgment for defamation; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(2) limit the applicability of section 230 of the 

13 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) to 

14 causes of action for defamation. 

15 ‘‘§ 4103. Removal 

16 ‘‘In addition to removal allowed under section 1441, 

17 any action brought in a State domestic court to enforce a 

18 foreign judgment for defamation in which— 

19 ‘‘(1) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State different 

20 from any defendant; 

21 ‘‘(2) any plaintiff is a foreign state or a citizen 

22 or subject of a foreign state and any defendant is a 

23 citizen of a State; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State and any 

2 defendant is a foreign state or citizen or subject of a 

3 foreign state, 

4 may be removed by any defendant to the district court of 

5 the United States for the district and division embracing 

6 the place where such action is pending without regard to 

7 the amount in controversy between the parties. 

8 ‘‘§ 4104. Declaratory judgments 

9 ‘‘(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any United States person 

11 against whom a foreign judgment is entered on the 

12 basis of the content of any writing, utterance, or other 

13 speech by that person that has been published, may 

14 bring an action in district court, under section 

15 2201(a), for a declaration that the foreign judgment 

16 is repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the United 

17 States. For the purposes of this paragraph, a judg18 ment is repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the 

19 United States if it would not be enforceable under sec20 tion 4102 (a), (b), or (c). 

21 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING UNENFORCE22 ABILITY OF JUDGMENT.—The party bringing an ac23 tion under paragraph (1) shall bear the burden of es24 tablishing that the foreign judgment would not be en25 forceable under section 4102 (a), (b), or (c). 


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1 ‘‘(b) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Where an 

2 action under this section is brought in a district court of 

3 the United States, process may be served in the judicial dis4 trict where the case is brought or any other judicial district 

5 of the United States where the defendant may be found, re6 sides, has an agent, or transacts business. 

7 ‘‘§ 4105. Attorneys’ fees 

8 ‘‘In any action brought in a domestic court to enforce 

9 a foreign judgment for defamation, including any such ac10 tion removed from State court to Federal court, the domestic 

11 court shall, absent exceptional circumstances, allow the 

12 party opposing recognition or enforcement of the judgment 

13 a reasonable attorney’s fee if such party prevails in the ac14 tion on a ground specified in section 4102 (a), (b), or (c).’’. 

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the Sense of the Con16 gress that for the purpose of pleading a cause of action for 

17 a declaratory judgment, a foreign judgment for defamation 

18 or any similar offense as described under chapter 181 of 

19 title 28, United States Code, (as added by this Act) shall 

20 constitute a case of actual controversy under section 

21 2201(a) of title 28, United States Code. 

22 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

23 table of chapters for part VI of title 28, United States Code, 

24 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘181. Foreign judgments ...................................................................... 4101.’’. 


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Calendar No. 460 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2765 

AN ACT 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit 

services. against the providers of interactive computer tion judgments and certain foreign judgments recognition and enforcement of foreign defamaJULY 14, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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