15 U.S.C. § 47 — Reference of suits under antitrust statutes to Commission

This section applies to equity lawsuits that the Attorney General brings under the antitrust laws. After all testimony in the case is finished, if the court believes the person suing ("complainant") is entitled to relief, the court may send the case to the Commission. The Commission acts like a "master in chancery" — a court-appointed helper — whose job is to figure out and report back an appropriate form of court order ("decree"). The Commission must follow whatever notice and procedure rules the court sets for the parties. Once the Commission's report comes back, either side can file objections ("exceptions") to it, and the court handles those the same way it would handle objections to a report from a master in any other equity case. The court is not bound by the Commission's report — it may adopt all of it, reject all of it, or accept only part of it. The court then issues whatever final decree the case requires, in its own judgment.