From WRAL (North Carolina)
By Laura Leslie
May 15, 2013
RALEIGH, N.C. — The latest version of a bill intended to protect the constitutional rights of North Carolinians from “foreign laws” is on its way to the House floor after a contentious hearing in the House Judiciary C Committee.
House Bill 695, entitled “Foreign Laws/Protect Constitutional Rights,” is the most recent iteration of legislation intended to keep courts from recognizing Islamic Sharia law in North Carolina.
Similar measures have been considered or passed in more than 15 other states.
The first version of the legislation was passed by ballot initiative in Oklahoma. It specifically named Sharia and was promptly blocked by a judge who declared it unconstitutional because it singled out a religion.
Since then, newer versions of the measure in states from Arkansas to Florida have been more carefully worded. House Bill 695 makes no mention of religion at all, and it wasn’t mentioned in committee.
In 2011, Rep. George Cleveland, R-Onslow, ran the same bill. It, too, passed committee but wasn’t taken up before the crossover deadline.
At that time, critics and legal experts warned that the broad language of the bill regarding contracts and foreign venues or courts could violate international treaties and admiralty laws and wreak havoc in international business relationships.
The same issues were raised again Wednesday by Kim Crouch with the North Carolina Bar Association, who said the association’s Business Law and International Law committees are opposed to the bill.
“This is not a necessary piece of legislation,” Crouch told the committee, adding that it would raise constitutional concerns.
