85R18722 KSD-F
By: Flynn, Leach, Burkett, Parker, H.B. No. 45
Laubenberg, et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 45:
By: Smithee C.S.H.B. No. 45
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring the Texas Supreme Court to adopt rules and
provide judicial instruction regarding the application of foreign
laws in certain family law cases.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) litigants in actions under the Family Code
involving a marriage relationship or a parent-child relationship
are protected against violations of constitutional rights and
public policy in the application of foreign law and the recognition
and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards by
courts of this state by a well-established body of law, described by
Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0094 (2016), which includes protections
provided under:
(A) the United States Constitution and the Texas
Constitution;
(B) federal law, treaties, and conventions to
which the United States is a signatory;
(C) federal and state judicial precedent; and
(D) the Family Code and other laws of this state;
(2) the legislature has enacted statutes, including
the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
(UCCJEA), that address comity regarding foreign judgments and
arbitration awards;
(3) as recognized by courts and commentators, the
UCCJEA does not define the aspects of a foreign law that violate
fundamental principles of human rights or certain terminology used
by that Act;
(4) the Family Code allows parties to a suit involving
the marriage relationship or affecting the parent-child
relationship to engage in arbitration and authorizes the court to
render an order reflecting the arbitrator's award;
(5) the Family Code should not be applied to enforce a
judgment or arbitrator's award affecting a marriage relationship or
a parent-child relationship based on foreign law if the foreign law
applied to render the judgment or award does not:
(A) grant constitutional rights guaranteed by
the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution;
(B) consider the best interest of the child;
(C) consider whether domestic violence or child
abuse has occurred and is likely to continue in the future; or
(D) consider whether the foreign judgment or
arbitrator's award affecting the parent-child relationship may
place the child in substantial risk of harm; and
(6) the rules of procedure and evidence adopted by the
Texas Supreme Court and judicial education required by the Texas
Supreme Court can ensure the full implementation and uniform
application by the courts of this state of the well-established
body of law described by Subdivision (1) of this section in order to
protect litigants in actions under the Family Code involving a
marriage relationship or a parent-child relationship against
violations of constitutional rights and public policy.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 22.0041 and 22.022 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.0041. RULES REGARDING FOREIGN LAW AND FOREIGN
JUDGMENTS IN CERTAIN FAMILY LAW ACTIONS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Comity" means the recognition by a court of one
jurisdiction of the laws and judicial decisions of a court of
another jurisdiction.
(2) "Foreign judgment" means a judgment of a court,
tribunal, or administrative adjudicator of a jurisdiction outside
of the states and territories of the United States.
(3) "Foreign law" means a law, rule, or code of a
jurisdiction outside of the states and territories of the United
States.
(b) The supreme court shall adopt rules of evidence and
procedure to implement the limitations on the granting of comity to
a foreign judgment or an arbitration award involving a marriage
relationship or a parent-child relationship under the Family Code
to protect against violations of constitutional rights and public
policy.
(c) The rules adopted under Subsection (b) must:
(1) require that any party who intends to seek
enforcement of a judgment or an arbitration award based on foreign
law that involves a marriage relationship or a parent-child
relationship shall provide timely notice to the court and to each
other party, including by providing information required by Rule
203, Texas Rules of Evidence, and by describing the court's
authority to enforce or decide to enforce the judgment or award;
(2) require that any party who intends to oppose the
enforcement of a judgment or an arbitration award based on foreign
law that involves a marriage relationship or a parent-child
relationship shall provide timely notice to the court and to each
other party and include with the notice an explanation of the
party's basis for opposition, including by stating whether the
party asserts that the judgment or award violates constitutional
rights or public policy;
(3) require a hearing on the record, after notice to
the parties, to determine whether the proposed enforcement of a
judgment or an arbitration award based on foreign law that involves
a marriage relationship or a parent-child relationship violates
constitutional rights or public policy;
(4) to facilitate appellate review, require that a
court state its findings of fact and conclusions of law in a written
order determining whether to enforce a foreign judgment or an
arbitration award based on foreign law that involves a marriage
relationship or a parent-child relationship;
(5) require that a court's determination under
Subdivision (3) or (4) be made promptly so that the action may
proceed expeditiously; and
(6) provide that a court may issue any orders the court
considers necessary to preserve principles of comity or the freedom
to contract for arbitration while protecting against violations of
constitutional rights and public policy in the application of
foreign law and the recognition and enforcement of foreign
judgments and arbitration awards.
(d) In addition to the rules required under Subsection (b),
the supreme court shall adopt any other rules the supreme court
considers necessary or advisable to accomplish the purposes of this
section.
(e) A rule adopted under this section does not apply to an
action brought under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act
(22 U.S.C. Section 9001 et seq.).
(f) In the event of a conflict between a rule adopted under
this section and a federal or state law, the federal or state law
prevails.
Sec. 22.022. JUDICIAL INSTRUCTION RELATED TO FOREIGN LAW
AND FOREIGN JUDGMENTS. (a) The supreme court shall provide for a
course of instruction that relates to issues regarding foreign law,
foreign judgments, and arbitration awards in relation to foreign
law that arise in actions under the Family Code involving the
marriage relationship and the parent-child relationship for judges
involved in those actions.
(b) The course of instruction must include information
about:
(1) the limits on comity and the freedom to contract
for arbitration that protect against violations of constitutional
rights and public policy in the application of foreign law and the
recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration
awards in actions brought under the Family Code; and
(2) the rules of evidence and procedure adopted under
Section 22.0041.
(c) The supreme court shall adopt rules necessary to
accomplish the purposes of this section.
SECTION 3. The Texas Supreme Court shall adopt rules as
required by this Act as soon as practicable following the effective
date of this Act, but not later than January 1, 2018.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.