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 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 24, 2012Markup Feb 28, 2012Reported Mar 19, 2012 |
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 20, 2012 |
Actions 12
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 20, 2012Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Mar 19, 2012Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 112-413.
- Mar 19, 2012Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 285.
- Mar 19, 2012Mr. Smith (TX) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- 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, 2012Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1370)
- Mar 19, 2012Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Feb 28, 2012Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Feb 28, 2012Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Feb 24, 2012Introduced in House
- Feb 24, 2012Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H1370–H1372Text printed H1370 | Howard L. Berman D-CA, John Conyers, Jr. D-MI, Lamar Smith R-TX, Steve Chabot R-OH | Mar 19, 2012 |
| House | Lists H950H.R. 4086–4088 | — | Feb 24, 2012 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Mar 19, 2012H.R. 4086, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification ActBased on information provided by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the National Gallery of Art, CBO estimates that H.R. 4086 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H950.
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 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend chapter 97 of title 28, United States Code, to clarify the exception to foreign sovereign immunity set forth in section 1605(a)(3) of such title.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
