On February 6, 2012, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates passed a resolution which reaffirmed the need for U.S. courts to continue giving proper credence to other countries’ laws, and to not place litigants in the inherently unfair position of either facing criminal prosecution abroad or being charged with noncompliance during U.S. discovery proceedings.
In the report, the ABA states, “Courts should give more deference to foreign legislation in balancing the national interests underpinning data protection statutes than they do in assessing requested recognition in U.S. litigation of discovery ‘blocking’ statutes.” The report went on to say, “Permitting broad discovery in disregard or even defiance of foreign protective legislation can ultimately impede global commerce, harm the interests of U.S. parties in foreign courts and provoke retaliatory measures.”
Click here to read the report and resolution.