---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 31111"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "31111"
heading: "Claims by nationals of foreign countries"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/31111"
units:
  - "Subtitle III — Maritime Liability"
  - "Chapter 311 — Suits Involving Public Vessels"
---

# §31111. Claims by nationals of foreign countries


A national of a foreign country may not maintain a civil action under this chapter unless it appears to the satisfaction of the court in which the action is brought that the government of that country, in similar circumstances, allows nationals of the United States to sue in its courts.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 6(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1522.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 31111 | 46 App.:785. | Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 428, § 5, 43 Stat. 1113. |