[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 14, Volume 5]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 14CFR1262.101]

[Page 365]
 
                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
 
                   CHAPTER V--NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
                          SPACE ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 1262_EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT IN AGENCY PROCEEDINGS--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart 1262.1_General Provisions
 
Sec.  1262.101  Purpose of these rules.


    (a) The pertinent provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act at 5 
U.S.C. 504 (hereinafter ``the Act'') provide for the award of attorney 
fees and other expenses to eligible individuals and entities who are 
parties to certain administrative proceedings (called ``adversary 
adjudications''). An eligible party may receive an award when it 
prevails, unless it has unreasonably protracted the proceedings, or the 
Agency's position in the proceeding was substantially justified, or 
special circumstances make an award unjust. The rules in this part 
describe the parties eligible for awards and the proceedings that are 
covered. They also explain how to apply for awards, and the procedures 
and standards that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA) will use in determining awards.
    (b) As used in this part:
    (1) Adversary adjudication means:
    (i) An adjudication under 5 U.S.C. 554 in which the position of the 
United States is represented by counsel or otherwise, but excludes an 
adjudication for the purpose of establishing or fixing a rate or for the 
purpose of granting or renewing a license;
    (ii) Any appeal of a decision made pursuant to section 6 of the 
Contract Disputes Act (CDA) of 1978, as amended (41 U.S.C. 605) before 
an agency board of contract appeals as provided in section 8 of the CDA 
(41 U.S.C. 607);
    (iii) Any hearing conducted under Chapter 38 of Title 31 (added by 
section 6104 of the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 
99-509, 100 Stat. 1948, Oct. 21, 1986), 31 U.S.C. 3801, et seq., as 
amended); and
    (iv) The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 (added by 
section 4(b), of RFRA (Pub. L. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1489, Nov. 16, 1993), 
42 U.S.C. 2000bb).
    (2) Adjudicative officer means the deciding official, without regard 
to whether the official is designated an administrative law judge, a 
hearing officer or examiner, or otherwise, who presided at the adversary 
adjudication;
    (3) Position of the agency means, in addition to the position taken 
by the agency in the adversary adjudication, the action or failure to 
act by the agency upon which the adversary adjudication is based;
    (4) Party, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551(3), includes a person or 
agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as 
of right to be admitted as a party, in an agency proceeding, and a 
person or agency admitted by an agency as a party for limited purposes, 
and who meets the eligibility requirements of Sec.  1262.104; and
    (5) Agency with a capital A denotes the NASA.
    (c) Determination of Substantially justified. Whether or not the 
position of the agency was substantially justified shall be determined 
on the basis of the administrative record, as a whole, which is made in 
the adversary adjudication for which fees and other expenses are sought.

[51 FR 15311, Apr. 23, 1986, as amended at 60 FR 12668, Mar. 8, 1995]