Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 1294
       
       
       
       By Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       20-00595E-11                                          20111294__
    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 applying the choice of a
    6         foreign law, legal code, or system under certain
    7         circumstances; declaring that certain decisions
    8         rendered under such laws, codes, or systems are void;
    9         declaring that certain choice of venue or forum
   10         provisions in a contract are void; declaring that
   11         claims of forum non conveniens or related claims must
   12         be denied under certain circumstances; providing that
   13         the act does not apply to a corporation, partnership,
   14         or other form of business association; clarifying that
   15         the public policies expressed in the act apply to
   16         violations of a natural person’s constitutional
   17         rights; providing for severability; providing an
   18         effective date.
   19  
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Section 45.022, Florida Statutes, is created to
   23  read:
   24         45.022 Provisions contrary to public policy.—
   25         (1) As used in this section, the term “foreign law, legal
   26  code, or system” means any law, legal code, or system of a
   27  jurisdiction outside any state or territory of the United
   28  States, including, but not limited to, international
   29  organizations or tribunals, and applied by that jurisdiction’s
   30  courts, administrative bodies, or other formal or informal
   31  tribunals.
   32         (2) Any court, arbitration, tribunal, or administrative
   33  agency ruling or decision violates the public policy of this
   34  state and is void and unenforceable if the court, arbitration,
   35  tribunal, or administrative agency bases its ruling or decision
   36  in the matter at issue in whole or in part on any law, legal
   37  code, or system that does not grant the parties affected by the
   38  ruling or decision the same fundamental liberties, rights, and
   39  privileges granted under the State Constitution and the
   40  Constitution of the United States, including, but not limited
   41  to, due process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any
   42  right of privacy or marriage as specifically defined by the
   43  State Constitution.
   44         (3) A contract or contractual provision, if severable,
   45  which provides for the choice of a law, legal code, or system to
   46  govern some or all of the disputes between the parties to be
   47  adjudicated by a court of law or by an arbitration panel arising
   48  from the contract violates the public policy of this state and
   49  is void and unenforceable if the law, legal code, or system
   50  chosen includes or incorporates any substantive or procedural
   51  law, as applied to the dispute at issue, which would not grant
   52  the parties the same fundamental liberties, rights, and
   53  privileges granted under the State Constitution and the
   54  Constitution of the United States.
   55         (4) If any contractual provision or agreement provides for
   56  the choice of venue or forum outside a state or territory of the
   57  United States, and if the enforcement or interpretation of the
   58  contract or agreement applying that choice of venue or forum
   59  provision would result in a violation of any right guaranteed by
   60  the State Constitution or the Constitution of the United States,
   61  that contractual provision or agreement shall be interpreted or
   62  construed to preserve the constitutional rights of the person
   63  against whom enforcement is sought. Similarly, if a natural
   64  person subject to personal jurisdiction in this state seeks to
   65  maintain litigation, arbitration, agency, or similarly binding
   66  proceedings in this state, and if a court of this state finds
   67  that granting a claim of forum non conveniens or a related claim
   68  violates or would likely lead to the violation of any
   69  constitutional right of the nonclaimant in the foreign forum
   70  with respect to the matter in dispute, the claim shall be
   71  denied.
   72         (5) Without prejudice to any other legal right, this
   73  section does not apply to a corporation, partnership, or other
   74  form of business association.
   75         (6) This section applies only to actual or foreseeable
   76  denials of a natural person’s constitutional rights from the
   77  foreign law, legal code, or system.
   78         (7) If any provision of this section or its application to
   79  any natural person or circumstance is held invalid, the
   80  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
   81  this section which can be given effect, and to that end the
   82  provisions of this act are severable.
   83         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.