RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION

• Published in: Tort trial & insurance practice law journal 2012-09, Vol.48 (1), p.343-357
• Main Authors: Wojcik, Mark E., Davoudi, Shayan, Devins, Shane T., Gerding, Julianne, Flesch, Kelly, Kaminski, Jolene, Valdovinos, Luz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case dismissal; Expropriation; Federal court decisions; Federal district courts; Hague Conventions; Immunity; International law; Jurisdiction; Legal judgments; Plaintiffs; Privileges & immunities; Terrorism
• ISSN: 1543-3234; 1943-118X

.357 This article surveys selected developments in international litigation during 2011-2012 in ten selected areas: (1) personal jurisdiction, (2) Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, (3) act of state doctrine, (4) international service of process, (5) forum non conveniens, (6) anti-suit injunctions, (7) postjudgment discovery, (8) Torture Victim Protection Act, (9) Hague Choice of Courts Convention, and (10) foreign defamation judgments. 133 The Act provides that "domestic courts in the United States shall not recognize or enforce a foreign defamation judgment" unless (a) the law applied by the foreign court "provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press as would be provided by the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of the state where the domestic court is located," or (b) if the defendant "would have been found liable for defamation by a domestic court applying" the protections of the federal and state constitutions.134 The SPEECH Act also prohibits U.S. courts from recognizing foreign defamation judgments unless the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the foreign court "comported with the due process requirements" imposed on U.S. courts by the federal constitution.135 The Act further permits U.S. persons named as defendants in foreign defamation actions to bring a declaratory judgment action in federal court "for a declaration that the foreign judgment is repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the United States.