civil court supremacy; due process

HB2604 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
civil court supremacy; due process

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2604

Introduced by

Representative
Blackman

AN
ACT

AMENDING TITLE 12, CHAPTER 1, ARIZONA
REVISED STATUTES, BY ADDING article 5; RELATING TO courts of record.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 12, chapter 1, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding article 5, to read:

ARTICLE 5. CIVIL COURT
SUPREMACY AND DUE PROCESS

START_STATUTE
12-181.

Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise
requires:

1. "Civil court" means the
superior court and any other state court of competent jurisdiction.

2. "Neutral principles of
law" means objective civil legal standards applied without reference to
religious, ideological or cultural doctrine.

3. "Private tribunal" means
any nongovernmental body, panel, mediator, council, forum or other entity that
purports to resolve disputes or issue decisions affecting legal rights or
obligations.

4. "Voluntary arbitration"
means arbitration entered into knowingly, freely and without coercion,
compulsion, penalty or retaliation for refusal.

5. "Vulnerable person"
means a minor or any person subject to dependency, coercion, intimidation or a
substantial imbalance of power.

END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.01.

Supremacy of civil courts

A. A private tribunal may not:

1. Supersede or displace the
jurisdiction of civil courts.

2. Restrict, penalize, discourage or
condition access to civil courts.

3. Claim exclusive, compulsory or
binding authority over any person.

B. Any agreement or provision THAT
ATTEMPTS to waive or limit access to civil courts or judicial review is void as
against public policy.

C. Civil courts retain inherent
authority to review any private adjudication for:

1. Jurisdiction.

2. Voluntariness.

3. Procedural fairness and due
process.

4. Compliance with constitutional and
statutory law.

END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.02.

Nonwaivable rights and voluntariness

A. A person may not waive THE RIGHT
TO:

1. Due process of law.

2. Equal protection of the laws.

3. Personal liberty.

4. Bodily integrity.

5. Protection from abuse, violence,
neglect or exploitation.

B. Consent to adjudication by a
private tribunal is invalid if the consent is obtained through:

1. Family pressure.

2. Community pressure.

3. Moral, ideological or social
coercion.

4. Fear of ostracism, punishment,
retaliation or penalty.

C. Courts shall apply a rebuttable
presumption of nonvoluntariness where a substantial power imbalance exists
between a party and a private tribunal.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.03.

Testimonial equality and evidentiary neutrality

A. A court may not recognize or
enforce any decision, award or agreement of a private tribunal if the private
tribunal applied any rule or practice in which the credibility, weight,
admissibility or sufficiency of testimony or evidence was determined by
reference to:

1. Sex.

2. Age.

3. Familial or marital status.

4. Any classification inconsistent
with equal protection under the Constitution of this state or the United
States.

B. All participants must be afforded
testimonial equality and have substantially equal opportunity to present
evidence and testimony, and no tribunal rule assigning greater or lesser
evidentiary value to any class of persons shall be enforceable.

C. Courts shall apply neutral
principles of law in making determinations under this section without
interpreting religious doctrine or belief.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.04.

Protection of women, children and vulnerable persons

A. A private tribunal decision may
not be enforced if it:

1. Discriminates on the basis of sex,
age, disability or any protected class.

2. Diminishes parental, custodial or
protective safeguards for children.

3. Subordinates personal safety to
family unity, honor, custom or reconciliation.

4. Treats abuse, neglect, violence,
exploitation or threats to safety as solely private matters.

B. In matters involving marriage,
dissolution, child custody, support, visitation, abuse, sexual exploitation,
personal safety or dependency, civil courts shall conduct independent review
and apply Arizona law exclusively.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.05.

Transparency, recordkeeping and judicial oversight

A. A decision of a private tribunal
may not be enforced unless:

1. Procedural rules of the private
tribunal were disclosed in writing to all participants.

2. Documentation exists showing each
participant�s voluntary participation.

3. Records sufficient to demonstrate
voluntariness and procedural fairness are preserved.

4. Judicial review may occur using
neutral principles of law.

B. This section does not require
disclosure of confidential communications protected by statute, including
attorney client privilege, clergy penitent privilege or other recognized
privileges except to the limited extent necessary to establish voluntariness
and procedural fairness.

C. Secrecy may not be used to conceal
abuse, intimidate participants or prevent access to civil courts.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.06.

Mandatory reporting and anti-retaliation

A. A private tribunal, mediator or
arbitrator may not suppress reporting of criminal conduct, impose
confidentiality to conceal abuse or retaliate against any person seeking civil
or criminal protection.

B. Any retaliation against a
participant for seeking civil judicial protection voids any resulting decision
and constitutes grounds for civil sanction.

C. This article does not alter or
diminish legally recognized privileges that are otherwise subject to mandatory
reporting laws of this State.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.07.

Preservation of autonomy and freedom of belief

A. This section does not authorize a
court to:

1. Interpret religious doctrine or
theology.

2. Regulate worship, belief,
religious expression or spiritual teaching.

3. Interfere with internal governance
or discipline of any voluntary association or religious organization.

4. Invalidate nonbinding spiritual
counsel or pastoral guidance.

B. The doctrine of ecclesiastical
abstention, as recognized by the Constitution of this state and case law,
remains fully intact.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
12-181.08.

Equal Application

This article applies equally to all persons,
organizations and associations without regard to religion, culture, race, sex,
ethnicity, national origin or belief.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Severability

If a provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
this act are severable.

Sec. 3.
Legislative Intent

A.
The
legislature finds and declares:

1. The Constitution of the
United States and the Constitution of Arizona are the supreme law of this State
and govern all persons, agreements and adjudications within its jurisdiction.

2. Civil courts provide
fundamental protections for due process, equal protection, personal liberty,
bodily integrity and the enforcement of statutory rights.

3. Private associations,
arbitration bodies, mediation panels, councils and forums may provide valuable
voluntary dispute resolution without claiming binding adjudicatory authority or
imposing penalties that restrict access to civil justice.

4. There is a compelling
state interest in ensuring that no private tribunal exercises de facto
adjudicatory authority that displaces civil court jurisdiction, limits access
to the courts or binds individuals through coercion, retaliation or penalty.

B. The legislature intends
to:

1. Prevent the
establishment or operation of any parallel or extra-constitutional legal
system.

2. Ensure that all private
adjudication remains subordinate to the civil courts of this State.

3. Protect constitutional
rights that are nonwaivable as a matter of public policy.

4. Preserve voluntary
dispute resolution and civic association while ensuring uniform enforcement of
civil law.

Sec. 4.
Short title

Title 12, chapter 1, article 5,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, may be cited as the
"Arizona Civil Court Supremacy and Due Process Act".