Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 2934
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Law
- Status
- Passed Senate
- Latest Action
- 2026-05-04: Held at the desk.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-02T16:20:22Z
AI-Generated Summary
Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025 (S. 2934)
Purpose
The legislation aims to protect U.S. persons (individuals or companies) from lawsuits in U.S. courts that seek to enforce foreign court judgments or arbitration awards (arbitral awards) when those claims stem from U.S. persons complying with U.S. sanctions or export controls. It ensures U.S. sanctions policy is not undermined by foreign litigation.
Key Provisions
- Limitation on civil actions (new 28 U.S.C. § 1660): Prohibits anyone except the U.S. government from filing in federal or state courts to enforce foreign judgments or arbitral awards if:
- The claim arises from conduct to comply with U.S. sanctions that blocked contract performance; or
- The foreign court or tribunal based its jurisdiction partly or fully on U.S. sanctions/export controls or foreign laws responding to them.
- Removal and dismissal: Defendants can move such cases to U.S. federal district court, which must dismiss them.
- Exceptions (rule of construction): Does not limit:
- U.S. government actions or enforcement powers (e.g., by the Office of Foreign Assets Control).
- Claims by U.S. victims (or their families) of terrorism, torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, or hostage-taking.
- Contractual disputes resolved by U.S. courts or arbitration.
- Other state/federal claims not enforcing the restricted foreign judgments.
- Definition: "U.S. sanctions" include restrictions on transactions involving foreign property to protect U.S. national security, foreign policy, or economy (under laws like the International Emergency Economic Powers Act); excludes import duties.
- Application: Applies to cases pending on or after enactment.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Adds a new section (28 U.S.C. § 1660) to Chapter 111 of Title 28 (on federal court jurisdiction over foreign judgments), explicitly blocking enforcement of certain foreign judgments linked to U.S. sanctions compliance.
- Updates the table of sections for clerical consistency.
- No prior specific federal bar existed for these sanctions-related foreign judgments, shifting from general comity (respect for foreign courts) toward prioritizing U.S. foreign policy.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Strengthens enforcement of sanctions by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and others; preserves their litigation rights.
- Citizens and businesses: Shields U.S. companies/individuals from costly foreign lawsuits for following U.S. sanctions, reducing compliance risks.
- International relations: May deter countries (e.g., Russia, implied in title) from using their courts to retaliate against U.S. sanctions, potentially straining ties with sanction-targeting nations but affirming U.S. policy globally.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- U.S. persons: Primary beneficiaries—protected from foreign claims when complying with sanctions.
- Foreign entities/persons: Restricted from enforcing judgments/awards in U.S. courts if sanctions-linked.
- U.S. government: Unaffected, retains full powers.
- Victims of specific international crimes: Exempted, preserving their access to U.S. courts.
- Contracting parties with U.S. dispute resolution: Unaffected for domestic claims.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces U.S. courts' role in upholding federal foreign policy over conflicting foreign judgments; aligns with anti-terrorism laws (e.g., 28 U.S.C. Ch. 97) but carves out exceptions to avoid overreach.
- Constitutional: Supports separation of powers by backing executive sanctions authority; unlikely to raise due process issues as it targets enforcement, not merits.
- Political: Counters "sanctions evasion" via foreign courts, signaling strong bipartisan support for sanctions regimes (e.g., against Russia, Iran, Syria); passed Senate in 119th Congress (2026).
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2026-05-04: Held at the desk.
- 2026-05-04: Received in the House.
- 2026-05-01: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- 2026-04-28: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2073-2074; text: CR S2073-2074)
- 2026-04-28: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- 2026-03-26: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 367.
- 2026-03-26: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley without amendment. Without written report.
- 2026-03-26: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley without amendment. Without written report.
- 2026-03-26: Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- 2025-09-29: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- 2025-09-29: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025 — issued 2026-04-28 — PDF (8 pages)
- Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025 — issued 2025-09-29 — PDF (6 pages)
- Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025 — issued 2026-03-26 — PDF (8 pages)