§703 — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

Federal courts (including courts in U.S. territories) can order a person who is in their area, or who is needed where a service court of a friendly foreign force is holding proceedings, to appear before that service court or before an officer taking a recorded statement and to give evidence or testimony. If the person disobeys, the court can treat it as contempt. Witness fees and travel pay at U.S. rates must be paid in advance by the friendly foreign force, and the order normally cannot require someone to travel into another district unless the court allows it. If a needed witness is in the U.S. armed forces, the request goes to that person’s commanding officer, who decides whether to allow attendance. People under U.S. jurisdiction who are not members of the friendly foreign force and who give false testimony or commit acts equivalent to contempt before a service court can be tried in a U.S. court and fined up to $2,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

Title 22, §703

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any district court of the United States, or the United States courts of any Territory or possession, within the jurisdiction of which proceedings are had before any service court of a friendly foreign force, or within the jurisdiction of which any person is found, shall have jurisdiction, upon application made by a service court of a friendly foreign force, to issue to such person an order requiring him to appear before the service court or an officer designated to take a deposition for use before such service court and there to produce evidence or give testimony if so ordered. Any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by said court as a contempt thereof: Provided, That the fees of such witnesses and the mileage at the rate allowed to witnesses attending the courts of the United States should be duly paid or tendered in advance to such witnesses, with funds to be supplied by the friendly foreign force. Except as expressly permitted by the court, in its discretion, no such order shall run into any other district.

(b)Attendance of witnesses in the armed services of the United States shall be obtained by request addressed to the discretion of the commanding officer of the person whose testimony is required.

(c)Persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, who are not members of a friendly foreign force, who shall give false testimony or shall commit any act in the presence of a service court of a friendly foreign force which, if committed before a court of the United States, would be in contempt thereof, shall upon conviction by a court of the United States be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In subsec. (a), reference to “or any court of first instance of the Philippine Commonwealth” omitted pursuant to Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippines under the authority of section 1394 of this title, under which section said Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note. In subsec. (a), reference to “the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia” omitted because the District of Columbia constitutes a judicial district, and the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia is included within the term “district courts of the United States” as used in such subsection. See section 88 and 132 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

§703 Attendance of Witnesses

Summary

Title 22, §703

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata