S. 1206 — Judicial Relief Clarification Act of 2025

This section establishes new 28 U.S.C. §2285 prohibiting courts of the United States (and district courts of the Virgin Islands, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands) from issuing any order—including an injunction, vacatur, stay, temporary restraining order, declaratory relief, or equitable relief—that restrains enforcement against a non-party or compels action in favor of a non-party with respect to any statute, regulation, order, executive action, or similar authority, unless the court determines the non-party is represented by a party acting in a representative capacity under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It also makes a conforming amendment to the table of sections for chapter 155 of title 28, U.S. Code.

This section authorizes interlocutory appeals from temporary restraining orders issued under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or other authority that restrain enforcement of, or compel action with respect to, any statute, regulation, order, executive action, or similar authority by the United States, a state (as defined in 28 U.S.C. §1332), an agency thereof, or an officer or employee acting in an official capacity. (Thus, such orders—previously generally non-appealable—become immediately appealable to courts of appeals under 28 U.S.C. §1292(a).)

This section amends the judicial review provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA; 5 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq.) by (1) limiting stays of agency action under APA § 705 and the scope of court review under APA § 706 to a person, as defined in APA § 551 (i.e., an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency), before the court; and (2) striking "and set aside" from APA § 706(2), changing the requirement from "hold unlawful and set aside" unlawful agency action to "hold unlawful" such action. (Thus, courts are no longer directed to affirmatively set aside agency actions, findings, or conclusions held unlawful.)

This section establishes a rule of construction stating that nothing in this Act or its amendments implies that federal courts possess authority to grant relief prohibited by the Act.