5.2—Inquiries concerning application of the Act.

(a) General. Any present or prospective agent of a foreign principal, or the agent's attorney, may request from the Assistant Attorney General for National Security a statement of the present enforcement intentions of the Department of Justice under the Act with respect to any presently contemplated activity, course of conduct, expenditure, receipt of money or thing of value, or transaction, and specifically with respect to whether the same requires registration and disclosure pursuant to the Act, or is excluded from coverage or exempted from registration and disclosure under any provision of the Act.

(b) Anonymous, hypothetical, non-party and ex post facto review requests excluded. The entire transaction which is the subject of the review request must be an actual, as opposed to hypothetical, transaction and involve disclosed, as opposed to anonymous, agents and principals. Review requests must be submitted by a party to the transaction or the party's attorney, and have no application to a party that does not join in the request. A review request may not involve only past conduct.

(c) Fee. All requests for statements of the Department's present enforcement intentions must be accompanied by a non-refundable filing fee submitted in accordance with § 5.5.

(d) Address. A review request must be submitted in writing to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530.

(e) Contents. A review request shall be specific and contain in detail all relevant and material information bearing on the actual activity, course of conduct, expenditure, receipt of money or thing of value, or transaction for which review is requested. There is no prescribed format for the request, but each request must include:

(1) The identity(ies) of the agent(s) and foreign principal(s) involved;

(2) The nature of the agent's activities for or in the interest of the foreign principal;

(3) A copy of the existing or proposed written contract with the foreign principal or a full description of the terms and conditions of each existing or proposed oral agreement; and

(4) The applicable statutory or regulatory basis for the exemption or exclusion claimed.

(f) Certification. If the requesting party is an individual, the review request must be signed by the prospective or current agent, or, if the requesting party is not an individual, the review request must be signed on behalf of each requesting party by an officer, a director, a person performing the functions of an officer or a director of, or an attorney for, the requesting party. Each such person signing the review request must certify that the review request contains a true, correct and complete disclosure with respect to the proposed conduct.

(g) Additional information. Each party shall provide any additional information or documents the National Security Division may thereafter request in order to review a matter. Any information furnished orally shall be confirmed promptly in writing, signed by the same person who signed the initial review request and certified to be a true, correct and complete disclosure of the requested information.

(h) Outcomes. After submission of a review request, the National Security Division, in its discretion, may state its present enforcement intention under the Act with respect to the proposed conduct; may decline to state its present enforcement intention; or, if circumstances warrant, may take such other position or initiate such other action as it considers appropriate. Any requesting party or parties may withdraw a review request at any time. The National Security Division remains free, however, to submit such comments to the requesting party or parties as it deems appropriate. Failure to take action after receipt of a review request, documents or information, whether submitted pursuant to this procedure or otherwise, shall not in any way limit or stop the National Security Division from taking any action at such time thereafter as it deems appropriate. The National Security Division reserves the right to retain any review request, document or information submitted to it under this procedure or otherwise and to use any such request, document or information for any governmental purpose.

(i) Time for response. The National Security Division shall respond to any review request within 30 days after receipt of the review request and of any requested additional information and documents.

(j) Written decisions only. The requesting party or parties may rely only upon a written Foreign Agents Registration Act review letter signed by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security or his delegate.

(k) Effect of review letter. Each review letter can be relied upon by the requesting party or parties to the extent the disclosure was accurate and complete and to the extent the disclosure continues accurately and completely to reflect circumstances after the date of issuance of the review letter.

(l) Compliance. Neither the submission of a review request, nor its pendency, shall in any way alter the responsibility of the party or parties to comply with the Act.

(m) Confidentiality. Any written material submitted pursuant to a request made under this section shall be treated as confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure.

Code of Federal Regulations

[Order No. 1757-93, 58 FR 37418, July 12, 1993, as amended by Order No. 2865-2007, 72 FR 10068, Mar. 7, 2007]

CFR

5.2—Inquiries concerning application of the Act.

Code of Federal Regulations