Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
Latest action · Mar 20, 2012 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 24, 2012
- Passed HouseMar 19, 2012
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act - Amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts (under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) in cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property (or any property exchanged for it) is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States; or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state, and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.
Prohibits consideration as a commercial activity (excluded from jurisdictional immunity) any activity in the United States of a foreign state, or of any carrier, associated with a temporary exhibition or display if: (1) the work of art (or other object of cultural significance) in question is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibition or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or cultural or educational institutions within it; and (2) the President has determined, with notice in the Federal Register, that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest. (Thus grants jurisdictional immunity to the foreign state and associated carrier for such works.)
Denies application of this prohibition to cases in which: (1) the civil action filed is based upon a claim that the work was taken in Europe in violation of international law by the Nazi government of Germany or governments occupied, assisted, or allied by the Nazi government between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945; (2) the court determines that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial; and (3) that determination is necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Feb 24, 2012.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Original | Feb 24, 2012 |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Original | Feb 24, 2012 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Feb 24, 2012 |
Actions 13
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 20, 2012Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Mar 19, 2012Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1370-1372)
- Mar 19, 2012DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4086.
- Mar 19, 2012Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Mar 19, 2012Mr. Smith (TX) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2212 | Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act | Related bill | Mar 20, 2012 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 20, 2012Referred in Senate
- Mar 19, 2012Engrossed in House
- Mar 19, 2012Reported in House
- Feb 24, 2012Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.