While no coherent doctrine defines the meaning of the public policy exception, courts
have consistently held it to apply in cases in which the enforcement of a judgment
would interfere with the protections of a constitutional right.31 This problem has
arisen frequently in cases involving the First Amendment, specifically libel cases,
where a foreign judgment has some speech-suppressing effect that is not recognized
in American libel law. In such cases, courts have repeatedly found a constitutionally
required public policy exception to protect American freedom of speech.32 A foreign
judgment that would be in violation of the First Amendment if rendered by an
American court, courts have thus held, may not be enforced in U.S. courts.33 These
holdings have even been affirmed by Congress, which recently passed the SPEECH
Act prohibiting enforcement of foreign libel judgments unless they comply with the
First Amendment