Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 1962
By the Committee on Commerce; and Senator Baker
577-04360A-10 20101962c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to application of foreign law;
3 creating s. 45.022, F.S.; defining the term “foreign
4 law, legal code, or system”; specifying the public
5 policy of this state in granting comity to a decision
6 rendered under any foreign law, legal code, or system;
7 specifying the public policy of this state in applying
8 the choice of a foreign law, legal code, or system
9 under certain circumstances; providing for the
10 construction of a waiver by a natural person of the
11 person’s constitutional rights; specifying the public
12 policy of this state for interpreting a contract,
13 arbitration agreement, or other agreement providing a
14 choice of venue or forum outside any state or
15 territory of the United States; specifying the public
16 policy of this state to deny certain claims of forum
17 non conveniens or a related claim if granting the
18 claim would lead to the violation of a natural
19 person’s constitutional rights; providing that the act
20 does not apply to a corporation, partnership, or other
21 form of business association; clarifying that the
22 public policies expressed in the act apply to
23 violations of a natural person’s constitutional
24 rights; providing for severability; providing an
25 effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Section 45.022, Florida Statutes, is created to
30 read:
31 45.022 Provisions contrary to public policy.—
32 (1) As used in this section, the term “foreign law, legal
33 code, or system” means any law, legal code, or system of a
34 jurisdiction outside any state or territory of the United
35 States, including, but not limited to, international
36 organizations or tribunals, and applied by that jurisdiction’s
37 courts, administrative bodies, or other formal or informal
38 tribunals.
39 (2) It is the public policy of this state that the primary
40 factor that a court, administrative agency, arbitrator,
41 mediator, or other entity or person acting under the authority
42 of state law must consider in granting comity to a decision
43 rendered under any foreign law, legal code, or system against a
44 natural person in this state is whether the decision rendered
45 violates or would violate any right of the natural person
46 guaranteed by the State Constitution or the Constitution of the
47 United States or any statute or decisions under those
48 constitutions.
49 (3)(a) If any contract, arbitration agreement, or other
50 agreement provides for the choice of a foreign law, legal code,
51 or system to govern its interpretation or the resolution of any
52 claim or dispute and the enforcement or interpretation of the
53 contract, arbitration agreement, or other agreement applying
54 that choice of law provision results or would result in a
55 violation of any right guaranteed by the State Constitution or
56 the Constitution of the United States, it is the public policy
57 of this state that the primary factor in interpretation,
58 enforcement, or application of the contract, arbitration
59 agreement, or other agreement be preservation of the
60 constitutional rights of a natural person in this state against
61 whom enforcement is sought.
62 (b) This subsection does not limit the right of a natural
63 person in this state to voluntarily restrict or limit his or her
64 constitutional rights by contract or specific waiver consistent
65 with constitutional principles, but the language of any such
66 contract or other waiver must be strictly construed in favor of
67 preserving the natural person’s constitutional rights.
68 (4)(a) If any contract, arbitration agreement, or other
69 agreement provides for the choice of venue or forum outside any
70 state or territory of the United States and the enforcement or
71 interpretation of the contract, arbitration agreement, or other
72 agreement applying that choice of venue or forum provision
73 results or would result in a violation of any right guaranteed
74 by the State Constitution or the Constitution of the United
75 States, it is the public policy of this state that, in
76 interpreting or construing the contract, arbitration agreement,
77 or other agreement, the primary factor to be considered is
78 whether it can be interpreted or construed to preserve the
79 constitutional rights of the natural person in this state
80 against whom enforcement is sought.
81 (b) If a natural person who is subject to personal
82 jurisdiction in this state seeks to maintain litigation,
83 arbitration, agency, or similarly binding proceedings in this
84 state and the courts of this state find that granting a claim of
85 forum non conveniens or a related claim violates or would likely
86 lead to the violation of the constitutional rights of the
87 nonclaimant in the foreign forum with respect to the matter in
88 dispute, it is the public policy of this state that the claim be
89 denied.
90 (5) Without prejudice to any other legal right, this
91 section does not apply to a corporation, partnership, or other
92 form of business association.
93 (6) The public policies expressed in this section apply
94 only to actual or foreseeable violations of a natural person’s
95 constitutional rights from the foreign law, legal code, or
96 system.
97 (7) If any provision of this section or its application to
98 any natural person or circumstance is held invalid, the
99 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
100 this section which can be given effect, and to that end the
101 provisions of this act are severable.
102 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.