Congressman Cohen Chairs Hearing on "Libel Tourism"
“Libel tourism threatens to undermine the principles of free speech because foreign courts often don’t place as difficult a burden on plaintiffs in libel cases,” said Congressman Cohen. “I called this hearing today because I wanted to make the public more aware of the consequences of this phenomenon and how it erodes our First Amendment rights.”
The issue of libel tourism came to the forefront as a result of the case of Ehrenfeld v. bin Mahfouz, which involved a U.S. author who was sued for libel in England by a Saudi billionaire. The author, Rachel Ehrenfeld, was unsuccessful in her effort to have an English default judgment against her declared unenforceable in the U.S. This prompted the New York State Legislature to enact legislation – the first of its kind in the U.S. – prohibiting enforcement of a foreign libel judgment unless a court in New York determines that it satisfies the free speech and press protections guaranteed by the U.S. and the New York State constitutions.
Dr. Ehrenfeld was the first witness at the hearing which also included Laura Handman and Bruce Brown, two prominent Washington media lawyers, and Professor Linda Silberman of New York University School of Law, one of the country’s foremost experts on the enforcement of foreign legal judgments in our courts.
“Without question, the panel assembled today before my subcommittee confirmed my belief that the Congress needs to enact legislation to protect American authors and publishers from libel tourism suits,” said Congressman Cohen. “Dr. Ehrenfeld and the other witnesses provided excellent insight and I believe that we’ll utilize some of their ideas moving forward to end this problem. I believe our First Amendment rights to be among the most sacred principles laid out in the Constitution, and I will use all of my powers as a Congressman and member of the Judiciary Committee to ensure that these rights are never undermined by foreign judgments.”
# # #
Contact:
Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, 202-225-3265
Charlie Gerber, Communications Assistant, 202-225-3265