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| To enact section 2701.01 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| prohibit courts, administrative agencies, and | 2 |
| arbitrators from applying foreign law to the | 3 |
| detriment of constitutional rights under the | 4 |
| United States and Ohio constitutions. | 5 |
| Section 1. That section 2701.01 of the Revised Code be | 6 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 2701.01. (A) As used in this section: | 8 |
| (1) "Religious organization" means any church, body of | 9 |
| communicants, or group that is not organized or operated for | 10 |
| profit and that gathers in common membership for regular worship | 11 |
| and religious observances. | 12 |
| (2) "System of foreign law" means the legal code or system of | 13 |
| a jurisdiction outside of the United States or its territories, | 14 |
| including international law but not including the legal system of | 15 |
| any native American tribe in this state. | 16 |
| (B)(1) No court, administrative agency, or arbitrator shall | 17 |
| base any ruling or decision in whole or in part on any statutory | 18 |
| or other law of a system of foreign law that does not grant the | 19 |
| parties affected by the ruling or decision one or more of the | 20 |
| following fundamental liberties, rights, and privileges granted | 21 |
| under the constitution of this state or the United States: | 22 |
| (a) Equal protection of the laws; | 23 |
| (b) Due process of law; | 24 |
| (c) Freedom of religion; | 25 |
| (d) Freedom of speech; | 26 |
| (e) Freedom of the press; | 27 |
| (f) Any right of privacy or marriage. | 28 |
| (2) A ruling or decision made by a court, administrative | 29 |
| agency, or arbitrator in violation of division (B)(1) of this | 30 |
| section is void and unenforceable. | 31 |
| (C)(1) A contract, or a contractual provision that is | 32 |
| severable from the contract, that designates a system of foreign | 33 |
| law or authorizes the choice of a system of foreign law to govern | 34 |
| some or all of the disputes between the parties or that grants | 35 |
| personal jurisdiction over the parties to any court, | 36 |
| administrative agency, or arbitrator that operates under a system | 37 |
| of foreign law is void and unenforceable if the system of foreign | 38 |
| law designated or chosen or under which the court, administrative | 39 |
| agency, or arbitrator operates does not grant the parties one or | 40 |
| more of the following fundamental liberties, rights, and | 41 |
| privileges granted under the constitution of this state or the | 42 |
| United States: | 43 |
| (a) Equal protection of the laws; | 44 |
| (b) Due process of law; | 45 |
| (c) Freedom of religion; | 46 |
| (d) Freedom of speech; | 47 |
| (e) Freedom of the press; | 48 |
| (f) Any right of privacy or marriage. | 49 |
| (2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply to | 50 |
| contracts entered into before the effective date of this section. | 51 |
| (D) If, in an action or proceeding commenced by a resident of | 52 |
| this state, an adverse party makes a motion based on forum non | 53 |
| conveniens or a similar doctrine, the court shall deny the motion | 54 |
| if it finds that granting the motion would likely result in the | 55 |
| violation in the foreign forum of the fundamental liberties, | 56 |
| rights, and privileges granted under the constitution of this | 57 |
| state or the United States with respect to the matter in dispute. | 58 |
| (E) This section does not apply to any non-natural person | 59 |
| that contracts to subject itself to a system of foreign law in a | 60 |
| jurisdiction outside the United States. | 61 |
| (F)This section does not authorize any court to adjudicate, | 62 |
| or prohibit any religious organization from adjudicating, the | 63 |
| election, appointment, calling, discipline, dismissal, removal, or | 64 |
| excommunication of a member, officer, or employee of a religious | 65 |
| organization or other ecclesiastical matters, including the | 66 |
| interpretation of religious doctrine, where adjudication by a | 67 |
| court would violate the constitution of this state or the United | 68 |
| States. | 69 |
| (G) No court shall interpret this section to conflict with | 70 |
| any federal treaty or other international agreement to which the | 71 |
| United States is a party to the extent that the treaty or | 72 |
| international agreement preempts or is superior to state law on | 73 |
| the matter at issue. | 74 |