§1327 Judicial Review Procedures

Summary

Actions taken under section 1323 or section 4713, and any agency steps to carry them out, generally cannot be reviewed by agency appeals, the Government Accountability Office, or any federal court, except as described below and in chapter 71. If someone is told they are excluded or removed under section 1323(c)(6) or is affected by a covered procurement action under section 4713, they have 60 days from notice to ask the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the action as unlawful. The court must set aside the action if it finds it was unreasonable, an abuse of power, not allowed by law, violated the Constitution, went beyond legal authority, lacked substantial support in the record (including classified material the court sees), or did not follow required procedures. The D.C. Circuit has exclusive jurisdiction for claims under section 1323(c)(5) or 4713 against the United States or its agencies, components, or officials, subject to possible Supreme Court review under section 1254 of title 28. The United States must file the administrative record the official relied on. Unclassified, non-privileged parts must be given to the challenger with protections for trade secrets and confidential business information. Certain materials may be given only to the court in private (ex parte, in camera): classified information; sensitive security information (49 C.F.R. 1520.5); privileged law-enforcement information; information from FISA activities except that subsections (c), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 106 (50 U.S.C. 1806), subsections (d), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of section 305 (50 U.S.C. 1825), subsections (c), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 405 (50 U.S.C. 1845), and section 706 (50 U.S.C. 1881e) of that Act do not apply; and information protected by other legal privileges. Anything filed in private stays sealed and is not given to the challenger or the public, and the court must return the record to the United States after further review ends. A court decision under these rules is the only judicial remedy against the United States or its agencies for these claims. The law does not stop the government from using other legal privileges or defenses to protect information. Defined term: "classified information" — the meaning in section 1(a) of the Classified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.), and it includes (A) material the U.S. Government has designated for national security protection by Executive order, statute, or regulation, and (B) restricted data as defined in section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2014).