Looking at the Judicial Redress Act of 2015

By Kelley Chittenden

The United States House of Representatives passed the Judicial Redress Act (the Act) on October 20, 2015, which proposes to allow non-U.S. citizens the right to bring civil actions against United States agencies under the Privacy Act of 1974. Under the Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is authorized to designate foreign countries or economic integration organizations whose citizens may challenge unlawful disclosures of records transferred from foreign countries to the United States. The DOJ designations are exempt from judicial or administrative review, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is granted exclusive jurisdiction over claims. The following Reed Smith Client Alert analyzes the effectiveness of the Act here: