§ 500.713 - Public hearings.

(a) In general. All hearings shall be open to the public, unless the Administrative Law Judge, at his or her discretion, determines at any time prior to or during the hearing, that holding an open hearing would be contrary to the public interest. Within 20 calendar days of service of the notice of hearing from the Administrative Law Judge, any party may file with the Administrative Law Judge a request for a closed hearing, and any party may file a pleading in reply to such a request. Failure to file a request or a reply is deemed a waiver of any objections regarding whether the hearing will be public or closed.

(b) Filing document under seal. (1) The Office of Foreign Assets Control may file any document or any part of a document under seal if disclosure of the document would be inconsistent with the protection of the public interest or if justice requires protection of any person, including a source or a party, from annoyance, threat, oppression, or undue burden or expense, or the disclosure of the information would be, or might reasonably lead to a disclosure, contrary to Executive Order 12958 or other Executive orders concerning disclosure of information, U.S. Treasury Department regulations, the Privacy Act, or the Freedom of Information Act.

(2) The Administrative Law Judge shall also safeguard the security and integrity of any documents under seal and shall take all appropriate steps to preserve the confidentiality of such documents or any parts thereof, including closing portions of the hearing to the public. Release of any information under seal, in any form or manner, is subject to the same sanctions and the exercise of the same authorities as are provided with respect to ex parte communications under paragraph (e)(5) of this section.

(3) Should the Administrative Law Judge deny placement of any documents under seal or under protective order, any party, and any person whose documents or materials are at issue, may file an interlocutory appeal to the Secretary or the Secretary's designee. In such cases the Administrative Law Judge must not release or expose any of the records or documents in question to the public or to any other parties for a period of 20 calendar days from the date of the Administrative Law Judge's ruling, in order to permit a petitioner the opportunity either to withdraw the records and documents or to file an interlocutory appeal with the Secretary or the Secretary's designee requesting an order that the records be placed under seal.

(4) Upon settlement, final decision, or motion to the Administrative Law Judge for good cause shown, all materials (including all copies) under seal or protective order shall be returned to the respective parties, except when it may be necessary to retain a record until the judicial process is completed.

(5) Written notice of all requests for release of protected documents or materials shall be given to the parties registered with the Administrative Law Judge at least 20 calendar days prior to any permitted release and prior to any access not specifically authorized under the protective order. A copy of all requests for information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the requester, shall be provided to the petitioner. Each request for access to protected material must also provide the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all persons represented by the requester, including those on whose behalf the requester seeks access to protected information. The Administrative Law Judge shall impose sanctions provided under § 500.706(e)(4) and (e)(5) for failure to provide this information.