I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H.R. 2141
To provide for a judicial remedy for United States persons injured as a
result of violations by foreign states of their arbitral obligations under
international law.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 10, 1997
Mr. MCCOLLUM (for himself, Mr. SHAW, and Mr. SPENCE) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for a judicial remedy for United States persons
injured as a result of violations by foreign states of
their arbitral obligations under international law.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Arbitra-
tion Enforcement Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Arbitration is an efficient and flexible dis-
pute resolution mechanism of great benefit to United
States persons doing business internationally.
(2) In some countries, particularly those with
undeveloped or inconsistent judicial systems, inter-
national arbitration may be the only fair and reliable
dispute resolution mechanism available to United
States persons.
(3) The usefulness of international arbitration
depends in large measure on the commitment of for-
eign states to enforce foreign arbitral awards pursu-
ant to their accession to, and observance of, the
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Arbitral Awards.
(4) United States persons are often without
remedies when foreign states violate the Convention
by refusing to enforce foreign arbitral awards or by
otherwise impairing the ability to collect the awards
by improperly delaying their enforcement.
(5) It is in the interest of the United States to
maintain the reliability of international arbitration,
to promote the observance of the Convention, and to
protect United States persons from economic injury
resulting from violations of the Convention by for-
eign states.
(b) PRESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATION.—The President
may certify an injury to a United States person through
a violation of the Convention if—
(1)(A) a foreign state has failed to enforce a
foreign arbitral award entered in favor of that
United States person in violation of the state’s obli-
gations under the Convention; or
(B) a foreign state has impeded, in violation of
its obligations under the Convention, the enforce-
ment of a foreign arbitral award entered in favor of
that United States person such that the ability of
the United States person to collect the award may
reasonably be presumed to have been impaired or re-
duced; and
(2) the United States person has exhausted all
judicial and administrative remedies in the foreign
state in which the arbitral award is sought to be en-
forced, or the further pursuit of such remedies would
reasonably be considered to be futile.
(c) EFFECT OF PRESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATION.—A
Presidential certification that a United States person has
been injured by a foreign state’s violation of the Conven-
tion shall, in any action brought under this Act, establish
an evidentiary presumption that—
(1) the foreign state certified to have violated
the Convention has done so; and
(2) the damages suffered by the United States
person are equivalent to the amount of the award
plus interest, if any.
(d) JURISDICTION.—(1) Chapter 85 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section
1331 the following new section:
‘‘§ 1331a. Civil actions involving violations of the
Convention on the Recognition and En-
forcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
‘‘The district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction,
without regard to the amount in controversy, of any action
brought under section 5 of the International Arbitration
Enforcement Act of 1997.’’.
(2) The table of sections for chapter 85 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 1331 the following:
‘‘1331a. Civil actions involving violations of the Convention on the Recognition
and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.’’.
(e) WAIVER
OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—Section
1605 of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph
(6);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) in which the action is brought with respect
to violations of the Convention on the Recognition
and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards under
section 5 of the International Arbitration Enforce-
ment Act of 1997.’’.
(f) NO IMMUNITY FROM ATTACHMENT OR EXECU-
TION.—(1) Section 1610(a) of title 28, United States
Code, is amended—
(A) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) the judgment or attachment relates to a
claim for which the foreign state is not immune
under section 1605(a)(8), regardless of whether the
property is or was involved in or related to the act
giving rise to or upon which the claim is based.’’.
(2) Section 1610(b) of such title is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph
(1);
(B) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) the judgment or attachment relates to a
claim for which the foreign state is not immune
under section 1605(a)(8), regardless of whether the
property is or was involved in or related to the act
giving rise to or upon which the claim is based.’’.
(g) LIMITATIONS PERIOD.—An action under this Act
may be brought within one year after the President makes
the certification under subsection (b) on which the action
is based.
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