It’s that time of year again. Proposed law/legislation is being kicked around by the State Legislature.

House Bill No. 11, proposed by Representative Arnold, seeks “TO PROHIBIT THE APPLICATION OF SHARIA LAW IN DIVORCE AND
CHILD CUSTODY CASES; TO AMEND SECTION 11-63-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF SHARIA LAW IN COURT ORDERS.”

To date, this scribe is unaware of any Court’s using, applying or considering Sharia law in the State of Mississippi, as same would be contrary to the MS Constitution anyway.

Of interest, the Bill includes that a Mississippi Court “shall not enforce a foreign law that violates the Mississippi Constitution, any laws of this state, the United States Constitution, any laws or ratified treaties of the United States and the territories of the United States * * *.”

The Bill likewise bars enforcement of ” (b) Any order by a court, arbitrator, administrative agency or other adjudicative, mediation or enforcement authority that seeks to enforce foreign law in violation of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) shall be void.”

So far, it’s basically saying MS Court’s will not honor foreign laws or Orders that violate MS law or Constitutional law or are based on factors contrary to MS law/US Constitutional considerations. Makes sense.

However, the Bill includes one other tidbit that could prove to have unintended consequences, “In Sections 11-7-301 through 11-7-309 “foreign judgment” means any judgment, decree or order of a court of the United States * * *. The term “foreign judgment” shall not mean
or include any judgment, decree or order from any jurisdiction outside of the United States or its territories, or any judgment from another state or territory of the United States that applies law from a jurisdiction outside of the United States or its territories.

This last paragraph seems to invalidate any “foreign judgment” that was not secured within the U.S.

Why do you care? Is that foreign Adoption, which is a Judgment, valid?

That “foreign” quickie Divorce in Haiti or the Dominican Republic? Are they valid?

Up and until this Bill, Mississippi and the United States have routinely recognized foreign judgments IF they were obtained in a procedural and substantive manner consistent with that foreign entities jurisdiction and law. This is called Comity and it’s a necessary legal concept.

Does HB. No. 11 unintentionally seek to overturn Comity? I argue that it certainly may and that’s no laughing matter!

Matthew Thompson is a Family law attorney and has handled multiple matters that involve foreign decrees and clients from all over the world.