15 U.S.C. § 47
Section 47 · Reference of suits under antitrust statutes to Commission
This is § 7 of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case International Salt Co. v. United States (1947)
Most recently applied in Federal Trade Commission v. Ruberoid Co. (May 1952)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In any suit in equity brought by or under the direction of the Attorney General as provided in the antitrust Acts, the court may, upon the conclusion of the testimony therein, if it shall be then of opinion that the complainant is entitled to relief, refer said suit to the Commission, as a master in chancery, to ascertain and report an appropriate form of decree therein. The Commission shall proceed upon such notice to the parties and under such rules of procedure as the court may prescribe, and upon the coming in of such report such exceptions may be filed and such proceedings had in relation thereto as upon the report of a master in other equity causes, but the court may adopt or reject such report, in whole or in part, and enter such decree as the nature of the case may in its judgment require.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The words “In any suit in equity brought by or under the direction of the Attorney General as provided in the antitrust Acts” have reference to actions under sections 4, 9, and 25 of this title.
The antitrust Acts, referred to in text, are defined in section 44 of this title.
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of Federal Trade Commission, with certain exceptions, to Chairman of such Commission, see Reorg. Plan No. 8 of 1950, §1, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1264, set out under section 41 of this title.