7 U.S.C. § 8 — Application for designation as contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility; time; suspension or revocation of designation; hearing; review by court of appeals

Any person desiring to be designated or registered as a contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility shall make application to the Commission^* for the designation or registration and accompany the same with a showing that it complies with the conditions set forth in this chapter, and with a sufficient assurance that it will continue to comply with the the 1 requirements of this chapter. The Commission shall approve or deny an application for designation or registration as a contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility within 180 days of the filing of the application. If the Commission notifies the person that its application is materially incomplete and specifies the deficiencies in the application, the running of the 180-day period shall be stayed from the time of such notification until the application is resubmitted in completed form: Provided, That the Commission shall have not less than sixty days to approve or deny the application from the time the application is resubmitted in completed form. If the Commission denies an application, it shall specify the grounds for the denial. In the event of a refusal to designate or register as a contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility any person that has made application therefor, the person shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing on the record before the Commission, with the right to appeal an adverse decision after such hearing to the court of appeals as provided for in other cases in subsection (b) of this section.

The Commission is authorized to suspend for a period not to exceed 6 months or to revoke the designation or registration of any contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility on a showing that the contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility is not enforcing or has not enforced its rules of government, made a condition of its designation or registration as set forth in sections 7 through 7a–1 of this title or section 7b–1 of this title, or that the contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility or electronic trading facility, or any director, officer, agent, or employee thereof, otherwise is violating or has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any of the rules, regulations, or orders of the Commission thereunder. Such suspension or revocation shall only be made after a notice to the officers of the contract market or derivatives transaction execution facility or electronic trading facility affected and upon a hearing on the record: Provided, That such suspension or revocation shall be final and conclusive, unless within fifteen days after such suspension or revocation by the Commission such person appeals to the court of appeals for the circuit in which it has its principal place of business, by filing with the clerk of such court a written petition praying that the order of the Commission be set aside or modified in the manner stated in the petition, together with a bond in such sum as the court may determine, conditioned that such person will pay the costs of the proceedings if the court so directs. The clerk of the court in which such a petition is filed shall immediately cause a copy thereof to be delivered to the Commission and file in the court the record in such proceedings, as provided in section 2112 of title 28. The testimony and evidence taken or submitted before the Commission, duly filed as aforesaid as a part of the record, shall be considered by the court of appeals as the evidence in the case. Such a court may affirm or set aside the order of the Commission or may direct it to modify its order. No such order of the Commission shall be modified or set aside by the court of appeals unless it is shown by the person that the order is unsupported by the weight of the evidence or was issued without due notice and a reasonable opportunity having been afforded to such person for a hearing, or infringes the Constitution of the United States, or is beyond the jurisdiction of the Commission.