No. HB 119
Filed under Legal.
Shari'a and Other Foreign Law; Defines "foreign law, legal code, or system"; provides that certain rulings, decisions, or contractual provisions are void & unenforceable if such rulings, decisions, or contractual provisions allow application of Shari'a or certain foreign laws, legal codes, or systems; prohibits transfer of certain civil actions to another court.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA state court ruling, arbitration decision, or contract clause that lets Shari'a or any other foreign legal system operate becomes void and unenforceable, but only when that foreign law would deny rights the U.S. or Florida Constitution guarantees.
The definition covers the law of any country or international body outside the United States, so despite the bill's short title, the rule is not limited to Shari'a; it can reach any nation's legal system.
The law does not reach corporations, partnerships, or associations that voluntarily choose foreign law or a foreign court in their own contracts, and it does not touch how a religious organization governs its own clergy or doctrine.
Courts, arbitration panels, and administrative agencies can no longer transfer a case to another venue if doing so would likely let a foreign legal system override those same constitutional protections.
AIA court ruling, arbitration decision, or contract clause that applies Shari'a or any other foreign legal system is void and unenforceable if that application would deny a party rights guaranteed by the U.S. or Florida Constitution, such as due process or equal protection.
AIThe term foreign law, legal code, or system is defined to mean the law of any jurisdiction outside every U.S. state and territory, including international organizations and tribunals, so the operative rule can reach any nation's legal system, not only Shari'a.
AIThe act explicitly does not limit how a religious organization selects, disciplines, or removes its clergy, or how it interprets its own doctrine, keeping those internal, ecclesiastical decisions outside the reach of this new rule.
AIA corporation, partnership, or association that voluntarily agrees to foreign law or a foreign court in its own contract is not covered by this act, so those commercial choice-of-law and forum-selection clauses remain enforceable.
AIA court, arbitration panel, tribunal, or administrative agency may not transfer a civil action to another venue if the transfer would result in applying Shari'a or any foreign law that would violate or likely violate a party's fundamental constitutional rights.
AIThe act states it does not disapprove or abrogate any existing ruling of the Florida Supreme Court, so past decisions remain intact even where they touch on foreign or religious law.
AIWhere federal law, including obligations under a treaty or international agreement, preempts state law, this act does not apply, so a conflicting federal rule controls instead.