Hollywood stars will no longer have favourable libel judgements in Ireland or Britain enforced by the American courts, according to legislation before the US Congress.

The 'libel tourism' bill was passed by the House of Representatives last week and is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It has been denounced as "draconian" by Irish libel lawyer, Paul Tweed, who has written to the committee asking them to reject it.

Tweed has represented a range of movie and music stars including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, and Britney Spears.

The bill is supported by the Association of American Publishers who argue that foreign libel actions have undermined the freedom of speech principles guaranteed in the First Amendment.

While US citizens will still technically be able to sue for libel in Ireland or Britain, the bill prohibits US courts from enforcing these foreign libel judgments so the stars will not be able to obtain any damages awarded.

A range of stars have successfully sued here or in Britain where libel laws are considerably tougher than in the US. Many have been represented by Tweed who has offices in Dublin, Belfast, and London.

He is currently acting for Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony – after they were wrongly linked to a heroin scandal – and Harrison Ford who has consulted him over claims relating to his most recent Indiana Jones movie.

Speaking from New York, Tweed told the Sunday Tribune: "I am astounded the House of Representatives has passed such legislation. This bill leaves the reputations of US citizens vulnerable to the whims of the tabloid press in Europe.

"If it's printed that Bill Gates is a terrorist, he'll effectively not be able to have a favourable libel judgement in Ireland or Britain upheld in the US.

"And if he doesn't sue, the public will think he's accepting the veracity of what's been printed and then they'll believe the false allegations actually are true. This will have implications for people's livelihoods and reputations.

"I'm not against freedom of speech, providing that speech is factually true and properly researched. America is effectively saying to the British and Irish courts, 'We don't like your way of doing things.' What will be next? Will the US legislators extend their proposed intervention to the enforcement of commercial debts and contracts emanating from Europe?"

The phenomenon of libel tourism has been dubbed "libel terrorism" by some. In contrast to the US, the onus in Ireland and Britain is on the publisher to prove the truth of what was reported and the plaintiff needn't show that malice was intended.

The availability of American publications on the internet here, and the trend for US magazines to have European or British editions, makes suing on this side of the Atlantic possible.

Belfast and Dublin lead the damages league with substantial six figure awards commonplace. Last month, Tweed became the first Irish lawyer to address the Beverly Hills Bar Association.