Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025

This legislation establishes a policy to safeguard United States persons from being disadvantaged when complying with U.S. sanctions or export controls. It seeks to prevent foreign persons from obtaining compensation for claims against U.S. persons who are attempting in good faith to fulfill their obligations under these U.S. laws. The bill introduces a new section to federal law that limits the availability of civil actions to enforce certain foreign judgments or arbitral awards in U.S. courts. Specifically, it prohibits the enforcement of such awards if the underlying claim resulted from actions taken to adhere to U.S. sanctions that impeded a contract, or if the foreign court's jurisdiction was based on the imposition of U.S. sanctions or related foreign laws. Any civil action brought to enforce such a foreign judgment or arbitral award can be removed to a U.S. district court , which is then mandated to dismiss the action. The legislation, however, includes important exceptions to this limitation, ensuring it does not restrict actions brought by the U.S. government or affect the rights of victims of international terrorism who are U.S. nationals or employees. It also preserves contractual rights where parties agreed to resolve disputes in U.S. courts or arbitration within the U.S., and other existing remedies under State or Federal law, provided they are not attempts to enforce the specifically prohibited foreign judgments or awards.