356.27—Final decision.
(a) APO Sanctions Board.
Upon request of a party, the initial decision will be reviewed by the members of the APO Sanctions Board. The Board consists of the Under Secretary for International Trade, who shall serve as Chairperson, the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, and the General Counsel.
(b) Comments on initial decision.
Within 30 days after issuance of the initial decision, a party may submit written comments to the APO Sanctions Board on the initial decision, which the Board will consider when reviewing the initial decision. The parties have no right to an oral presentation, although the Board may allow oral argument in its discretion.
(c) Final decision by the APO Sanctions Board.
Within 60 days but not sooner than 30 days after issuance of an initial decision, the APO Sanctions Board may issue a final decision which adopts the initial decision in its entirety; differs in whole or in part from the initial decision, including the imposition of lesser included sanctions; or remands the matter to the administrative law judge or the Deputy Under Secretary for further consideration. The only sanctions that the Board can impose are those sanctions proposed in the charging letter or lesser included sanctions.
(d) Content's of final decision.
If the final decision of the APO Sanctions Board does not remand the matter and differs from the initial decision, it will state findings and conclusions which differ from the initial decision, if any, the basis for those findings and conclusions, and the sanctions which are to be imposed, to the extent they differ from the sanctions in the initial decision.
(e) Public notice of sanctions.
If the final decision is that there has been a violation of a protective order or a disclosure undertaking and that sanctions are to be imposed, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal Register and forwarded to the United States section of the Secretariat. Such publication will be no sooner than 30 days after issuance of a final decision or after a motion to reconsider has been denied, if such a motion was filed. If the final decision is made in a proceeding based upon a request to charge by an authorized agency of an FTA country, the decision will be forwarded to the Secretariat of the involved FTA country for transmittal to the authorized agency of the FTA country for publication in the official publication or other appropriate action. The Deputy Under Secretary will also provide such information to the ethics panel or other disciplinary body of the appropriate bar associations or other professional associations whenever the Deputy Under Secretary subjects a charged or affected party to a sanction under § 356.12(a)(2) and to any Federal agency likely to have an interest in the matter and will cooperate in any disciplinary actions by any association or agency.