46 USC § 30306 - Foreign cause of action

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s30306"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 30306 - Foreign cause of action"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "30306"
section_name: "Foreign cause of action"
chapter_number: 303
chapter_name: "DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 109–304, § 6(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1511.)"
---


# § 30306. Foreign cause of action

When a cause of action exists under the law of a foreign country for death by wrongful act, neglect, or default on the high seas, a civil action in admiralty may be brought in a court of the United States based on the foreign cause of action, without abatement of the amount for which recovery is authorized.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 6(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1511.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 30306 | 46 App.:764. | Mar. 30, 1920, ch. 111, § 4, 41 Stat. 537. |

The words “a civil action in admiralty may be brought in a court of the United States based on the foreign cause of action” are substituted for “such right may be maintained in an appropriate action in admiralty in the courts of the United States” for clarity and consistency. The words “any statute of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding” are omitted as unnecessary.