§ 21. — Enforcement provisions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC21]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 1--MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE
Sec. 21. Enforcement provisions
(a) Commission, Board, or Secretary authorized to enforce compliance
Authority to enforce compliance with sections 13, 14, 18, and 19 of
this title by the persons respectively subject thereto is vested in the
Surface Transportation Board where applicable to common carriers subject
to jurisdiction under subtitle IV of title 49; in the Federal
Communications Commission where applicable to common carriers engaged in
wire or radio communication or radio transmission of energy; in the
Secretary of Transportation where applicable to air carriers and foreign
air carriers subject to part A of subtitle VII of title 49; in the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System where applicable to banks,
banking associations, and trust companies; and in the Federal Trade
Commission where applicable to all other character of commerce to be
exercised as follows:
(b) Issuance of complaints for violations; hearing; intervention; filing
of testimony; report; cease and desist orders; reopening and
alteration of reports or orders
Whenever the Commission, Board, or Secretary vested with
jurisdiction thereof shall have reason to believe that any person is
violating or has violated any of the provisions of sections 13, 14, 18,
and 19 of this title, it shall issue and serve upon such person and the
Attorney General a complaint stating its charges in that respect, and
containing a notice of a hearing upon a day and at a place therein fixed
at least thirty days after the service of said complaint. The person so
complained of shall have the right to appear at the place and time so
fixed and show cause why an order should not be entered by the
Commission, Board, or Secretary requiring such person to cease and
desist from the violation of the law so charged in said complaint. The
Attorney General shall have the right to intervene and appear in said
proceeding and any person may make application, and upon good cause
shown may be allowed by the Commission, Board, or Secretary, to
intervene and appear in said proceeding by counsel or in person. The
testimony in any such proceeding shall be reduced to writing and filed
in the office of the Commission, Board, or Secretary. If upon such
hearing the Commission, Board, or Secretary, as the case may be, shall
be of the opinion that any of the provisions of said sections have been
or are being violated, it shall make a report in writing, in which it
shall state its findings as to the facts, and shall issue and cause to
be served on such person an order requiring such person to cease and
desist from such violations, and divest itself of the stock, or other
share capital, or assets, held or rid itself of the directors chosen
contrary to the provisions of sections 18 and 19 of this title, if any
there be, in the manner and within the time fixed by said order. Until
the expiration of the time allowed for filing a petition for review, if
no such petition has been duly filed within such time, or, if a petition
for review has been filed within such time then until the record in the
proceeding has been filed in a court of appeals of the United States, as
hereinafter provided, the Commission, Board, or Secretary may at any
time, upon such notice and in such manner as it shall deem proper,
modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any report or any order made
or issued by it under this section. After the expiration of the time
allowed for filing a petition for review, if no such petition has been
duly filed within such time, the Commission, Board, or Secretary may at
any time, after notice and opportunity for hearing, reopen and alter,
modify, or set aside, in whole or in part, any report or order made or
issued by it under this section, whenever in the opinion of the
Commission, Board, or Secretary conditions of fact or of law have so
changed as to require such action or if the public interest shall so
require: Provided, however, That the said person may, within sixty days
after service upon him or it of said report or order entered after such
a reopening, obtain a review thereof in the appropriate court of appeals
of the United States, in the manner provided in subsection (c) of this
section.
(c) Review of orders; jurisdiction; filing of petition and record of
proceeding; conclusiveness of findings; additional evidence;
modification of findings; finality of judgment and decree
Any person required by such order of the commission, board, or
Secretary to cease and desist from any such violation may obtain a
review of such order in the court of appeals of the United States for
any circuit within which such violation occurred or within which such
person resides or carries on business, by filing in the court, within
sixty days after the date of the service of such order, a written
petition praying that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary
be set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by
the clerk of the court to the commission, board, or Secretary, and
thereupon the commission, board, or Secretary shall file in the court
the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112 of title 28.
Upon such filing of the petition the court shall have jurisdiction of
the proceeding and of the question determined therein concurrently with
the commission, board, or Secretary until the filing of the record, and
shall have power to make and enter a decree affirming, modifying, or
setting aside the order of the commission, board, or Secretary, and
enforcing the same to the extent that such order is affirmed, and to
issue such writs as are ancillary to its jurisdiction or are necessary
in its judgment to prevent injury to the public or to competitors
pendente lite. The findings of the commission, board, or Secretary as to
the facts, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. To
the extent that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary is
affirmed, the court shall issue its own order commanding obedience to
the terms of such order of the commission, board, or Secretary. If
either party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional
evidence, and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such
additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds
for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the
commission, board, or Secretary, the court may order such additional
evidence to be taken before the commission, board, or Secretary, and to
be adduced upon the hearing in such manner and upon such terms and
conditions as to the court may seem proper. The commission, board, or
Secretary may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings,
by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and shall file such
modified or new findings, which if supported by substantial evidence,
shall be conclusive, and its recommendation, if any, for the
modification or setting aside of its original order, with the return of
such additional evidence. The judgment and decree of the court shall be
final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme
Court upon certiorari, as provided in section 1254 of title 28.
(d) Exclusive jurisdiction of Court of Appeals
Upon the filing of the record with its jurisdiction of the court of
appeals to affirm, enforce, modify, or set aside orders of the
commission, board, or Secretary shall be exclusive.
(e) Liability under antitrust laws
No order of the commission, board, or Secretary or judgment of the
court to enforce the same shall in anywise relieve or absolve any person
from any liability under the antitrust laws.
(f) Service of complaints, orders and other processes
Complaints, orders, and other processes of the commission, board, or
Secretary under this section may be serviced by anyone duly authorized
by the commission, board, or Secretary, either (1) by delivering a copy
thereof to the person to be served, or to a member of the partnership to
be served, or to the president, secretary, or other executive officer or
a director of the corporation to be served; or (2) by leaving a copy
thereof at the residence or the principal office or place of business of
such person; or (3) by mailing by registered or certified mail a copy
thereof addressed to such person at his or its residence or principal
office or place of business. The verified return by the person so
serving said complaint, order, or other process setting forth the manner
of said service shall be proof of the same, and the return post office
receipt for said complaint, order, or other process mailed by registered
or certified mail as aforesaid shall be proof of the service of the
same.
(g) Finality of orders generally
Any order issued under subsection (b) of this section shall become
final--
(1) upon the expiration of the time allowed for filing a
petition for review, if no such petition has been duly filed within
such time; but the commission, board, or Secretary may thereafter
modify or set aside its order to the extent provided in the last
sentence of subsection (b) of this section; or
(2) upon the expiration of the time allowed for filing a
petition for certiorari, if the order of the commission, board, or
Secretary has been affirmed, or the petition for review has been
dismissed by the court of appeals, and no petition for certiorari
has been duly filed; or
(3) upon the denial of a petition for certiorari, if the order
of the commission, board, or Secretary has been affirmed or the
petition for review has been dismissed by the court of appeals; or
(4) upon the expiration of thirty days from the date of issuance
of the mandate of the Supreme Court, if such Court directs that the
order of the commission, board, or Secretary be affirmed or the
petition for review be dismissed.
(h) Finality of orders modified by Supreme Court
If the Supreme Court directs that the order of the commission,
board, or Secretary be modified or set aside, the order of the
commission, board, or Secretary rendered in accordance with the mandate
of the Supreme Court shall become final upon the expiration of thirty
days from the time it was rendered, unless within such thirty days
either party has instituted proceedings to have such order corrected to
accord with the mandate, in which event the order of the commission,
board, or Secretary shall become final when so corrected.
(i) Finality of orders modified by Court of Appeals
If the order of the commission, board, or Secretary is modified or
set aside by the court of appeals, and if (1) the time allowed for
filing a petition for certiorari has expired and no such petition has
been duly filed, or (2) the petition for certiorari has been denied, or
(3) the decision of the court has been affirmed by the Supreme Court
then the order of the commission, board, or Secretary rendered in
accordance with the mandate of the court of appeals shall become final
on the expiration of thirty days from the time such order of the
commission, board, or Secretary was rendered, unless within such thirty
days either party has instituted proceedings to have such order
corrected so that it will accord with the mandate, in which event the
order of the commission, board, or Secretary shall become final when so
corrected.
(j) Finality of orders issued on rehearing ordered by Court of Appeals
or Supreme Court
If the Supreme Court orders a rehearing; or if the case is remanded
by the court of appeals to the commission, board, or Secretary for a
rehearing, and if (1) the time allowed for filing a petition for
certiorari has expired, and no such petition has been duly filed, or (2)
the petition for certiorari has been denied, or (3) the decision of the
court has been affirmed by the Supreme Court, then the order of the
commission, board, or Secretary rendered upon such rehearing shall
become final in the same manner as though no prior order of the
commission, board, or Secretary had been rendered.
(k) ``Mandate'' defined
As used in this section the term ``mandate'', in case a mandate has
been recalled prior to the expiration of thirty days from the date of
issuance thereof, means the final mandate.
(l) Penalties
Any person who violates any order issued by the commission, board,
or Secretary under subsection (b) of this section after such order has
become final, and while such order is in effect, shall forfeit and pay
to the United States a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each
violation, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered
in a civil action brought by the United States. Each separate violation
of any such order shall be a separate offense, except that in the case
of a violation through continuing failure or neglect to obey a final
order of the commission, board, or Secretary each day of continuance of
such failure or neglect shall be deemed a separate offense.
(Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, Sec. 11, 38 Stat. 734; June 19, 1934, ch. 652,
title VII, Sec. 702(d), formerly title VI, Sec. 602(d), 48 Stat. 1102;
renumbered Pub. L. 98-549, Sec. 6(a), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2804; Aug.
23, 1935, ch. 614, Sec. 203(a), 49 Stat. 704; June 23, 1938, ch. 601,
Sec. 1107(g), 52 Stat. 1028; June 25, 1948, ch. 646, Sec. 32(a), 62
Stat. 991; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 127, 63 Stat. 107; Dec. 29, 1950,
ch. 1184, 64 Stat. 1125; Pub. L. 85-726, title XIV, Sec. 1401(b), Aug.
23, 1958, 72 Stat. 806; Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 4, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat.
943; Pub. L. 86-107, Sec. 1, July 23, 1959, 73 Stat. 243; Pub. L. 98-
443, Sec. 9(m), Oct. 4, 1984, 98 Stat. 1708; Pub. L. 98-620, title IV,
Sec. 402(10)(B), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3358; Pub. L. 104-88, title III,
Sec. 318(2), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 949.)
References in Text
The antitrust laws, referred to in subsec. (e), are defined in
section 12 of this title.
Codification
In subsec. (a), ``part A of subtitle VII of title 49'' substituted
for ``the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 [49 App. U.S.C. 1301 et seq.]''
on authority of Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 6(b), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat.
1378, the first section of which enacted subtitles II, III, and V to X
of Title 49.
Amendments
1995--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-88 substituted ``Surface
Transportation Board where applicable to common carriers subject to
jurisdiction under subtitle IV of title 49'' for ``Interstate Commerce
Commission where applicable to common carriers subject to the Interstate
Commerce Act, as amended''.
1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-443, Sec. 9(m)(1), substituted
``Secretary of Transportation where applicable to air carriers and
foreign air carriers subject to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958'' for
``Civil Aeronautics Board where applicable to air carriers and foreign
air carriers subject to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98-443, Sec. 9(m)(2), substituted ``Commission,
Board, or Secretary'' for ``Commission or Board'' wherever appearing.
Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 98-443, Sec. 9(m)(3), substituted
``commission, board, or Secretary'' for ``commission or board'' wherever
appearing.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-620 struck out provision that such
proceedings in the court of appeals had to be given precedence over
other cases pending therein, and had to be in every way expedited.
Pub. L. 98-443, Sec. 9(m)(3), substituted ``commission, board, or
Secretary'' for ``commission or board''.
Subsecs. (f) to (j), (l). Pub. L. 98-443, Sec. 9(m)(3), substituted
``commission, board, or Secretary'' for ``commission or board'' wherever
appearing.
1959--Pub. L. 86-107 amended section generally, and among other
changes, authorized the Commission or Board, upon notice and opportunity
for hearing, in cases where a petition for review has not been filed
within the time allowed, to reopen and alter, modify, or set aside, in
whole or in part, any report or order, whenever conditions of fact or
law have so changed as to require such action or if the public interest
so requires, and added subsecs. (g) to (k), providing for finality of
orders, and subsec. (l), prescribing the civil penalty for violation of
orders.
1958--Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 4(a), struck out ``a transcript of''
after ``Until'' in last sentence of second par.
Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 4(b), substituted in first sentence of third
par., ``file the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112
of title 28'' for ``certify and file with its application a transcript
of the entire record in the proceeding, including all the testimony
taken and the report and order of the Commission or Board'', and in
second sentence of third par., struck out ``and transcript'' after
``application'', inserted ``concurrently with the Commission or Board
until the filing of the record'', and struck out ``upon the pleadings,
testimony, and proceedings set forth in such transcript'' after ``make
and enter''.
Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 4(c), substituted in second sentence of fourth
par., ``transmitted by the clerk of the court to'' for ``served upon''
and ``shall file in the court the record in the proceeding, as provided
in section 2112 of title 28'' for ``forthwith shall certify and file in
the court a transcript of the record in the proceeding, as hereinbefore
provided'', and in third sentence of fourth paragraph substituted ``such
petition'' for ``the transcript'' and inserted ``determined as provided
in section 1009(e) of title 5,''.
Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 4(d), substituted in fifth par., ``Upon the
filing of the record with it the'' for ``The''.
1950--Act Dec. 29, 1950, amended section generally to allow the
Attorney General to intervene and appear in any proceeding brought by
any Commission or Board to enforce sections 13, 14, 18, and 19 of this
title, but the amendment in nowise affects the jurisdiction of the
Department of Justice to enforce these sections in the courts.
1938--Act June 23, 1938, inserted ``in the Civil Aeronautics
Authority where applicable to air carriers and foreign air carriers
subject to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938'', and ``authority'' after
``commission'' wherever appearing.
1935--Act Aug. 23, 1935, changed the name of Federal Reserve Board
to Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
1934--Act June 19, 1934, amended first par.
Change of Name
Act June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, as amended by act May 24,
1949, substituted ``court of appeals'' for ``circuit court of appeals''.
Effective Date of 1995 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of
Pub. L. 104-88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 701 of
Title 49, Transportation.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendments
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov.
8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98-620, set out as an Effective Date
note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-443 effective Jan. 1, 1985, see section 9(v)
of Pub. L. 98-443, set out as a note under section 5314 of Title 5,
Government Organization and Employees.
Effective Date of 1959 Amendment
Section 2 of Pub. L. 86-107 provided that: ``The amendments made by
section 1 [amending this section] shall have no application to any
proceeding initiated before the date of enactment of this Act [July 23,
1959] under the third or fourth paragraph of section 11 of the Act
entitled `An Act to supplement existing laws against unlawful restraints
and monopolies, and for other purposes', approved October 15, 1914 (38
Stat. 734, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 21) [this section]. Each such
proceeding shall be governed by the provisions of such section as they
existed on the day preceding the date of enactment of this Act.''
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of Federal Trade Commission, with certain
exceptions, to Chairman of such Commission, see Reorg. Plan No. 8 of
1950, Sec. 1, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1264, set out
under section 41 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 21a, 57b-1 of this title.
