Congressman Cohen's Libel Tourism Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee

“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 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.”

“I commend my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee for passing this bill and hope that the Speaker will schedule a vote on this measure very soon,” Congressman Cohen said.

To view Congressman Cohen’s opening statement delivered during today’s House Judiciary Markup click here.

“Libel tourism” is recent phenomenon which exploits defamation laws in foreign countries in an attempt to silence or intimidate American journalists, authors and publishers. Similar legislation overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives last year, yet it stalled in the U.S. Senate.

By way of background, 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.

In February of this year, Chairman Cohen held a hearing of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee where Dr. Ehrenfeld testified.

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