[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR4.27]

[Page 52-53]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 4--DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
      Subpart B--General Rules Relating to Procedures and Practice
 
Sec. 4.27  Standards of conduct.

    (a) Inquiries. All inquiries with respect to any matter pending 
before the Office of Hearings and Appeals shall be directed to the 
Director, the Chief Administrative Law Judge, or the Chairman of the 
appropriate Board.
    (b) Ex parte communication--(1) Prohi-
bition. Except to the extent required for the disposition of ex parte 
matters as authorized by law, there shall be no communication concerning 
the merits of a proceeding between any party to the proceeding or any 
person interested in the proceeding or any representative of a party or 
interested person and any Office personnel involved or who may 
reasonably be expected to become involved in the decisionmaking process 
on that proceeding, unless the communication, if oral, is made in the 
presence of all other parties or their representatives, or, if written, 
is furnished

[[Page 53]]

to all other parties. Proceedings include cases pending before the 
Office, rulemakings amending this Part 4 that might affect a pending 
case, requests for reconsideration or review by the Director, and any 
other related action pending before the Office. The terms ``interested 
person'' and ``person interested in the proceeding'' include any 
individual or other person with an interest in the agency proceeding 
that is greater than the interest that the public as a whole may have. 
This regulation does not prohibit communications concerning case status 
or advice concerning compliance with procedural requirements unless the 
area of inquiry is in fact an area of controversy in the proceeding. Any 
oral communication made in violation of this regulation shall be reduced 
to writing in a memorandum to the file by the person receiving the 
communication and shall be included in the record. Any written 
communication made in violation of this regulation shall be included in 
the record. In proceedings other than informal rulemakings copies of the 
memorandum or communication shall be provided to all parties, who shall 
be given an opportunity to respond in writing.
    (2) Sanctions. The administrative law judge, board, or Director who 
has responsibility for the matter with respect to which a prohibited 
communication has been knowingly made may impose appropriate sanctions 
on the offending person or persons, which may include requiring an 
offending party to show cause why its claim, motion, or interest should 
not be dismissed, denied, or otherwise adversely affected; disciplining 
offending Office personnel pursuant to the Department's standards of 
conduct (43 CFR part 20); and invoking such sanctions against other 
offending persons as may be appropriate under the circumstances.
    (c) Disqualification. An administrative law judge or Board member 
shall withdraw from a case if he deems himself disqualified under the 
recognized canons of judicial ethics. If, prior to a decision of an 
administrative law judge or an Appeals Board, there is filed in good 
faith by a party an affidavit of personal bias or disqualification with 
substantiating facts, and the administrative law judge or Board member 
concerned does not withdraw, the Board or the Director, as appropriate, 
shall determine the matter of disqualification.

[36 FR 7186, Apr. 15, 1971, as amended at 50 FR 43705, Oct. 29, 1985; 53 
FR 49660, Dec. 9, 1988]