H. R. 927—30
for the full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between
the United States and Cuba.
TITLE III—PROTECTION OF PROPERTY
RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Individuals enjoy a fundamental right to own and enjoy
property which is enshrined in the United States Constitution.
(2) The wrongful confiscation or taking of property belong-
ing to United States nationals by the Cuban Government, and
the subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense
of the rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the
free flow of commerce, and economic development.
(3) Since Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959—
(A) he has trampled on the fundamental rights of the
Cuban people; and
(B) through his personal despotism, he has confiscated
the property of—
(i) millions of his own citizens;
(ii) thousands of United States nationals; and
(iii) thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum
in the United States as refugees because of persecution
and later became naturalized citizens of the United
States.
(4) It is in the interest of the Cuban people that the
Cuban Government respect equally the property rights of
Cuban nationals and nationals of other countries.
(5) The Cuban Government is offering foreign investors
the opportunity to purchase an equity interest in, manage,
or enter into joint ventures using property and assets some
of which were confiscated from United States nationals.
(6) This ‘‘trafficking’’ in confiscated property provides badly
needed financial benefit, including hard currency, oil, and
productive investment and expertise, to the current Cuban
Government and thus undermines the foreign policy of the
United States—
(A) to bring democratic institutions to Cuba through
the pressure of a general economic embargo at a time
when the Castro regime has proven to be vulnerable to
international economic pressure; and
(B) to protect the claims of United States nationals
who had property wrongfully confiscated by the Cuban
Government.
(7) The United States Department of State has notified
other governments that the transfer to third parties of prop-
erties confiscated by the Cuban Government ‘‘would complicate
any attempt to return them to their original owners’’.
(8) The international judicial system, as currently struc-
tured, 
lacks 
fully 
effective 
remedies 
for 
the 
wrongful
confiscation of property and for unjust enrichment from the
use of wrongfully confiscated property by governments and
private entities at the expense of the rightful owners of the
property.
H. R. 927—31
(9) International law recognizes that a nation has the abil-
ity to provide for rules of law with respect to conduct outside
its territory that has or is intended to have substantial effect
within its territory.
(10) The United States Government has an obligation to
its citizens to provide protection against wrongful confiscations
by foreign nations and their citizens, including the provision
of private remedies.
(11) To deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated property,
United States nationals who were the victims of these
confiscations should be endowed with a judicial remedy in
the courts of the United States that would deny traffickers
any profits from economically exploiting Castro’s wrongful sei-
zures.
SEC. 302. LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN CONFISCATED PROPERTY
CLAIMED BY UNITED STATES NATIONALS.
(a) CIVIL REMEDY.—
(1) LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING.—(A) Except as otherwise
provided in this section, any person that, after the end of
the 3-month period beginning on the effective date of this
title, traffics in property which was confiscated by the Cuban
Government on or after January 1, 1959, shall be liable to
any United States national who owns the claim to such property
for money damages in an amount equal to the sum of—
(i) the amount which is the greater of—
(I) the amount, if any, certified to the claimant
by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, plus
interest;
(II) 
the 
amount 
determined 
under 
section
303(a)(2), plus interest; or
(III) the fair market value of that property, cal-
culated as being either the current value of the prop-
erty, or the value of the property when confiscated
plus interest, whichever is greater; and
(ii) court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
(B) Interest under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be at the rate
set forth in section 1961 of title 28, United States Code, com-
puted by the court from the date of confiscation of the property
involved to the date on which the action is brought under
this subsection.
(2) PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR OF THE CERTIFIED CLAIMS.—
There shall be a presumption that the amount for which a
person is liable under clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) is the
amount that is certified as described in subclause (I) of that
clause. The presumption shall be rebuttable by clear and
convincing evidence that the amount described in subclause
(II) or (III) of that clause is the appropriate amount of liability
under that clause.
(3) INCREASED LIABILITY.—(A) Any person that traffics in
confiscated property for which liability is incurred under para-
graph (1) shall, if a United States national owns a claim with
respect to that property which was certified by the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the Inter-
national Claims Settlement Act of 1949, be liable for damages
computed in accordance with subparagraph (C).
H. R. 927—32
(B) If the claimant in an action under this subsection
(other than a United States national to whom subparagraph
(A) applies) provides, after the end of the 3-month period
described in paragraph (1) notice to—
(i) a person against whom the action is to be initiated,
or
(ii) a person who is to be joined as a defendant in
the action,
at least 30 days before initiating the action or joining such
person as a defendant, as the case may be, and that person,
after the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the
notice is provided, traffics in the confiscated property that
is the subject of the action, then that person shall be liable
to that claimant for damages computed in accordance with
subparagraph (C).
(C) Damages for which a person is liable under subpara-
graph (A) or subparagraph (B) are money damages in an
amount equal to the sum of—
(i) the amount determined under paragraph (1)(A)(ii),
and
(ii) 3 times the amount determined applicable under
paragraph (1)(A)(i).
(D) Notice to a person under subparagraph (B)—
(i) shall be in writing;
(ii) shall be posted by certified mail or personally deliv-
ered to the person; and
(iii) shall contain—
(I) a statement of intention to commence the action
under this section or to join the person as a defendant
(as the case may be), together with the reasons there-
for;
(II) a demand that the unlawful trafficking in the
claimant’s property cease immediately; and
(III) a copy of the summary statement published
under paragraph (8).
(4) APPLICABILITY.—(A) Except as otherwise provided in
this paragraph, actions may be brought under paragraph (1)
with respect to property confiscated before, on, or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) In the case of property confiscated before the date
of the enactment of this Act, a United States national may
not bring an action under this section on a claim to the con-
fiscated property unless such national acquires ownership of
the claim before such date of enactment.
(C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act, a United States national
who, after the property is confiscated, acquires ownership of
a claim to the property by assignment for value, may not
bring an action on the claim under this section.
(5) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ACTIONS.—(A) In the case of
a United States national who was eligible to file a claim with
the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V of
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but did not
so file the claim, that United States national may not bring
an action on that claim under this section.
(B) In the case of any action brought under this section
by a United States national whose underlying claim in the
H. R. 927—33
action was timely filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission under title V of the International Claims Settle-
ment Act of 1949 but was denied by the Commission, the
court shall accept the findings of the Commission on the claim
as conclusive in the action under this section.
(C) A United States national, other than a United States
national bringing an action under this section on a claim cer-
tified under title V of the International Claims Settlement
Act of 1949, may not bring an action on a claim under this
section before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(D) An interest in property for which a United States
national has a claim certified under title V of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949 may not be the subject of a
claim in an action under this section by any other person.
Any person bringing an action under this section whose claim
has not been so certified shall have the burden of establishing
for the court that the interest in property that is the subject
of the claim is not the subject of a claim so certified.
(6) INAPPLICABILITY OF ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE.—No court
of the United States shall decline, based upon the act of state
doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action
brought under paragraph (1) .
(7) LICENSES
NOT
REQUIRED.—(A) Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, an action under this section may be
brought and may be settled, and a judgment rendered in such
action may be enforced, without obtaining any license or other
permission from any agency of the United States, except that
this paragraph shall not apply to the execution of a judgment
against, or the settlement of actions involving, property blocked
under the authorities of section 5(b) of the Trading with the
Enemy Act that were being exercised on July 1, 1977, as
a result of a national emergency declared by the President
before such date, and are being exercised on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for
purposes of this title only, any claim against the Cuban Govern-
ment shall not be deemed to be an interest in property the
transfer of which to a United States national required before
the enactment of this Act, or requires after the enactment
of this Act, a license issued by, or the permission of, any
agency of the United States.
(8) PUBLICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not later than
60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney
General shall prepare and publish in the Federal Register
a concise summary of the provisions of this title, including
a statement of the liability under this title of a person traffick-
ing in confiscated property, and the remedies available to
United States nationals under this title.
(b) AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY.—An action may be brought under
this section by a United States national only where the amount
in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $50,000, exclusive of
interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. In calculating $50,000 for pur-
poses of the preceding sentence, the applicable amount under
subclause (I), (II), or (III) of subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may not be
tripled as provided in subsection (a)(3).
(c) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—
H. R. 927—34
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this title, the provi-
sions of title 28, United States Code, and the rules of the
courts of the United States apply to actions under this section
to the same extent as such provisions and rules apply to any
other action brought under section 1331 of title 28, United
States Code.
(2) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action under this section,
service of process on an agency or instrumentality of a foreign
state in the conduct of a commercial activity, or against individ-
uals acting under color of law, shall be made in accordance
with section 1608 of title 28, United States Code.
(d) ENFORCEABILITY OF JUDGMENTS AGAINST CUBAN GOVERN-
MENT.—In an action brought under this section, any judgment
against an agency or instrumentality of the Cuban Government
shall not be enforceable against an agency or instrumentality of
either a transition government in Cuba or a democratically elected
government in Cuba.
(e) CERTAIN PROPERTY IMMUNE FROM EXECUTION.—Section
1611 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1610 of this chap-
ter, the property of a foreign state shall be immune from attachment
and from execution in an action brought under section 302 of
the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of
1996 to the extent that the property is a facility or installation
used by an accredited diplomatic mission for official purposes.’’.
(f) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—
(1) ELECTION.—Subject to paragraph (2)—
(A) any United States national that brings an action
under this section may not bring any other civil action
or proceeding under the common law, Federal law, or the
law of any of the several States, the District of Columbia,
or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States, that seeks monetary or nonmonetary compensation
by reason of the same subject matter; and
(B) any person who brings, under the common law
or any provision of law other than this section, a civil
action or proceeding for monetary or nonmonetary com-
pensation arising out of a claim for which an action would
otherwise be cognizable under this section may not bring
an action under this section on that claim.
(2) TREATMENT OF CERTIFIED CLAIMANTS.—(A) In the case
of any United States national that brings an action under
this section based on a claim certified under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949—
(i) if the recovery in the action is equal to or greater
than the amount of the certified claim, the United States
national may not receive payment on the claim under any
agreement entered into between the United States and
Cuba settling claims covered by such title, and such
national shall be deemed to have discharged the United
States from any further responsibility to represent the
United States national with respect to that claim;
(ii) if the recovery in the action is less than the amount
of the certified claim, the United States national may
receive payment under a claims agreement described in
clause (i) but only to the extent of the difference between
H. R. 927—35
the amount of the recovery and the amount of the certified
claim; and
(iii) if there is no recovery in the action, the United
States national may receive payment on the certified claim
under a claims agreement described in clause (i) to the
same extent as any certified claimant who does not bring
an action under this section.
(B) In the event some or all actions brought under this
section are consolidated by judicial or other action in such
manner as to create a pool of assets available to satisfy the
claims in such actions, including a pool of assets in a proceeding
in bankruptcy, every claimant whose claim in an action so
consolidated was certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission under title V of the International Claims Settle-
ment Act of 1949 shall be entitled to payment in full of its
claim from the assets in such pool before any payment is
made from the assets in such pool with respect to any claim
not so certified.
(g) DEPOSIT OF EXCESS PAYMENTS BY CUBA UNDER CLAIMS
AGREEMENT.—Any amounts paid by Cuba under any agreement
entered into between the United States and Cuba settling certified
claims under title V of the International Claims Settlement Act
of 1949 that are in excess of the payments made on such certified
claims after the application of subsection (f) shall be deposited
into the United States Treasury.
(h) TERMINATION OF RIGHTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—All rights created under this section to
bring an action for money damages with respect to property
confiscated by the Cuban Government—
(A) may be suspended under section 204(a); and
(B) shall cease upon transmittal to the Congress of
a determination of the President under section 203(c)(3)
that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power.
(2) PENDING
SUITS.—The suspension or termination of
rights under paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced
before the date of such suspension or termination (as the case
may be), and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals
taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with
the same effect as if the suspension or termination had not
occurred.
(i) IMPOSITION OF FILING FEES.—The Judicial Conference of
the United States shall establish a uniform fee that shall be imposed
upon the plaintiff or plaintiffs in each action brought under this
section. The fee should be established at a level sufficient to recover
the costs to the courts of actions brought under this section. The
fee under this subsection is in addition to any other fees imposed
under title 28, United States Code.
SEC. 303. PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROP-
ERTY.
(a) EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP.—
(1) CONCLUSIVENESS OF CERTIFIED CLAIMS.—In any action
brought under this title, the court shall accept as conclusive
proof of ownership of an interest in property a certification
of a claim to ownership of that interest that has been made
by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V
H. R. 927—36
of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C.
1643 and following).
(2) CLAIMS
NOT
CERTIFIED.—If in an action under this
title a claim has not been so certified by the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission, the court may appoint a special mas-
ter, including the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, to
make determinations regarding the amount and ownership of
the claim. Such determinations are only for evidentiary pur-
poses in civil actions brought under this title and do not con-
stitute certifications under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949.
(3) EFFECT
OF
DETERMINATIONS
OF
FOREIGN
OR
INTER-
NATIONAL ENTITIES.—In determining the amount or ownership
of a claim in an action under this title, the court shall not
accept as conclusive evidence any findings, orders, judgments,
or decrees from administrative agencies or courts of foreign
countries or international organizations that declare the value
of or invalidate the claim, unless the declaration of value or
invalidation was found pursuant to binding international
arbitration to which the United States or the claimant submit-
ted the claim.
(b) AMENDMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
ACT OF 1949.—Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act
of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643 and following) is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
‘‘DETERMINATION OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS REFERRED BY DISTRICT
COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES
‘‘SEC. 514. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act
and only for purposes of section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, a United State
district court, for fact-finding purposes, may refer to the Commis-
sion, and the Commission may determine, questions of the amount
and ownership of a claim by a United States national (as defined
in section 4 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996), resulting from the confiscation of prop-
erty by the Government of Cuba described in section 503(a), whether
or not the United States national qualified as a national of the
United States (as defined in section 502(1)) at the time of the
action by the Government of Cuba.’’.
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act or in section
514 of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as added
by subsection (b), shall be construed—
(1) to require or otherwise authorize the claims of Cuban
nationals who became United States citizens after their prop-
erty was confiscated to be included in the claims certified
to the Secretary of State by the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission for purposes of future negotiation and espousal
of claims with a friendly government in Cuba when diplomatic
relations are restored; or
(2) as superseding, amending, or otherwise altering certifi-
cations that have been made under title V of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949 before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
H. R. 927—37
SEC. 304. EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMIS-
SION CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949
(22 U.S.C. 1643 and following), as amended by section 303, is
further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION
CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE
‘‘SEC. 515. (a) Subject to subsection (b), neither any national
of the United States who was eligible to file a claim under section
503 but did not timely file such claim under that section, nor
any person who was ineligible to file a claim under section 503,
nor any national of Cuba, including any agency, instrumentality,
subdivision, or enterprise of the Government of Cuba or any local
government of Cuba, nor any successor thereto, whether or not
recognized by the United States, shall have a claim to, participate
in, or otherwise have an interest in, the compensation proceeds
or nonmonetary compensation paid or allocated to a national of
the United States by virtue of a claim certified by the Commission
under section 507, nor shall any district court of the United States
have jurisdiction to adjudicate any such claim.
‘‘(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to detract
from or otherwise affect any rights in the shares of capital stock
of nationals of the United States owning claims certified by the
Commission under section 507.’’.
SEC. 305. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.
An action under section 302 may not be brought more than
2 years after the trafficking giving rise to the action has ceased
to occur.
SEC. 306. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), this title
and the amendments made by this title shall take effect on August
1, 1996.
(b) SUSPENSION AUTHORITY.—
(1) SUSPENSION AUTHORITY.—The President may suspend
the effective date under subsection (a) for a period of not
more than 6 months if the President determines and reports
in writing to the appropriate congressional committees at least
15 days before such effective date that the suspension is nec-
essary to the national interests of the United States and will
expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(2) ADDITIONAL SUSPENSIONS.—The President may suspend
the effective date under subsection (a) for additional periods
of not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin
on the day after the last day of the period during which a
suspension is in effect under this subsection, if the President
determines and reports in writing to the appropriate congres-
sional committees at least 15 days before the date on which
the additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is
necessary to the national interests of the United States and
will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(c) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—
(1) SUSPENSION.—After this title and the amendments of
this title have taken effect—
H. R. 927—38
(A) no person shall acquire a property interest in any
potential or pending action under this title; and
(B) the President may suspend the right to bring an
action under this title with respect to confiscated property
for a period of not more than 6 months if the President
determines and reports in writing to the appropriate
congressional committees at least 15 days before the
suspension takes effect that such suspension is necessary
to the national interests of the United States and will
expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(2) ADDITIONAL SUSPENSIONS.—The President may suspend
the right to bring an action under this title for additional
periods of not more than 6 months each, each of which shall
begin on the day after the last day of the period during which
a suspension is in effect under this subsection, if the President
determines and reports in writing to the appropriate congres-
sional committees at least 15 days before the date on which
the additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is
necessary to the national interests of the United States and
will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(3) PENDING SUITS.—The suspensions of actions under para-
graph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the date
of such suspension, and in all such suits, proceedings shall
be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same
manner and with the same effect as if the suspension had
not occurred.
(d) RESCISSION OF SUSPENSION.—The President may rescind
any suspension made under subsection (b) or (c) upon reporting
to the appropriate congressional committees that doing so will expe-
dite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
TITLE IV—EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN
ALIENS
SEC. 401. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF ALIENS WHO
HAVE CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES
NATIONALS OR WHO TRAFFIC IN SUCH PROPERTY.
(a) GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION.—The Secretary of State shall
deny a visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the
United States, any alien who the Secretary of State determines
is a person who, after the date of the enactment of this Act—
(1) has confiscated, or has directed or overseen the
confiscation of, property a claim to which is owned by a United
States national, or converts or has converted for personal gain
confiscated property, a claim to which is owned by a United
States national;
(2) traffics in confiscated property, a claim to which is
owned by a United States national;
(3) is a corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with
a controlling interest of an entity which has been involved
in the confiscation of property or trafficking in confiscated
property, a claim to which is owned by a United States national;
or
(4) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a person excludable
under paragraph (1), (2), or (3).