On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the S.2934 «Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025» («Bill», «S.2934»), which aims to protect U.S. companies from the enforcement of Russian court orders and foreign arbitration decisions in the United States related to compliance with U.S. sanctions and export control regulations.
The bill is a direct response to the active use of Articles 248.1 and 248.2 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (the Lugovoy Law), which allow Russian courts to establish exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving sanctioned individuals.
The senators who authored the bill explicitly state that the initiative aims to close a «legal loophole» that allows Russian parties to seek enforcement of decisions made by Russian courts against American companies that have complied with US sanctions restrictions in the United States.
The main content of the Draft Law
The bill proposes to add a new article to Title 28 of the U.S. Code – 28 USC § 1660.
The key provision is formulated as follows:
«No person … may bring a civil action in Federal or State court to enforce any foreign judgment or foreign arbitral award».
The ban applies if:
- The dispute arose as a result of compliance with US sanctions
The bill applies to situations where:
«the underlying conduct or circumstances giving rise to the claim resulted from actions to comply with United States sanctions impeding the performance of a contract».
These disputes are primarily related to:
- The termination of activities in Russia;
- The refusal to fulfill contracts;
- The blocking of payments;
- The refusal to supply;
- The termination of agreements;
- The freezing of assets;
- Export control restrictions.
- A foreign court or commercial arbitration has established jurisdiction based on US sanctions
The bill also blocks the execution of decisions if:
«the court or tribunal … asserted jurisdiction based, in whole or in part, on the imposition of United States sanctions or export controls».
This wording is directly based on the Russian practice of applying Articles 248.1–248.2 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
Practical significance for Russian disputes
In the event of the adoption of the Bill:
- Russian court decisions issued under the Lugovoy Law;
- anti-suit injunctions;
- anti-arbitration injunctions;
- decisions on the recovery of damages for compliance with sanctions;
- related arbitration decisions,
will not be recognized and enforced in federal and state courts in the United States.
Thus, the Bill significantly reduces the practical value of such decisions for claimants if the defendant’s assets are predominantly located in the United States.
However, the Bill does not prevent:
- the continuation of legal proceedings in Russia;
- the enforcement of assets in Russia;
- attempts to enforce decisions in other jurisdictions.
Therefore, the geography of assets and the structure of international business will continue to be crucial.
Differences between S.2934 and the H.R.9563 «Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2024» bill
The H.R.9563 «Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2024» («H.R.9563») was the original version of the American legislative initiative aimed against Russian lawsuits and decisions related to US sanctions.
The H.R.9563 bill was aimed at limiting the ability to file lawsuits in U.S. federal courts for claims related to the consequences of complying with U.S. sanctions.
The key wording of H.R.9563 was as follows:
“a person may not bring a civil action in Federal court to obtain relief for a claim where…”.
The bill then specified two criteria:
- the dispute arose due to US sanctions that prevented the contract from being fulfilled;
- the sanctions were imposed after the relevant contract was concluded.
Why is H.R.9563 considered a more «broad» bill?
The main difference between H.R.9563 and S.2934 is the subject of regulation.
H.R.9563
In fact, it limited the very possibility of bringing certain civil claims in U.S. federal courts. Thus, the approach of H.R.9563 was more procedurally aggressive and involved restricting access to U.S. courts.
S.2934
Unlike H.R.9563, S.2934 does not limit the possibility of filing claims per se. The bill focuses exclusively on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
Therefore, S.2934 is considered a more narrow and technically sound legislative mechanism.
Other significant differences
H.R.9563 only applied to “civil action in Federal court”.
In contrast, S.2934 covers both federal courts and state courts; directly regulates foreign arbitral awards; and specifically addresses the issue of enforcing Russian decisions issued under Articles 248.1-248.2 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
Why is H.R.9563 important for understanding S.2934
H.R.9563 was actually the first version of the U.S. legislative response to Russia’s Lugovoy Law.
After criticism of the original text, U.S. lawmakers narrowed the scope of regulation, removed overly broad restrictions on litigation, and shifted the focus to protecting against the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
The main criticism of H.R.9563 was that the language stated: “a person may not bring a civil action in Federal court…” effectively limited the ability to file certain civil lawsuits in U.S. federal courts. This is a sensitive issue for the American legal system, as access to justice is traditionally considered a fundamental procedural principle.
Prospects for the adoption of the Bill
Despite the fact that S.2934 eliminates many of the shortcomings of H.R.9563, the likelihood of the final adoption of the Bill cannot be considered guaranteed.
In particular, S.2934 may raise questions:
- about its compatibility with the New York Convention;
- about its compliance with the principle of reciprocity (comity
- about the permissibility of such a significant interference by U.S. federal law in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court and arbitration decisions.
Nevertheless, compared to H.R.9563, the S.2934 Bill appears to be a significantly narrower, technically sound, and politically realistic mechanism for responding to Russia’s practice of applying Articles 248.1-248.2 of the Arbitration Procedure Code.
Sources
- Congress.gov – text of the S.2934 bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2934.
- Official press release from Senators Padilla and Cornyn: https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-cornyn-bill-to-protect-americans-from-russian-litigation-unanimously-passes-senate/.
- Congress.gov – text of the H.R.9563 bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/9563.
- Transnational Litigation Blog – https://tlblog.org/the-protecting-americans-from-russian-litigation-act/.