(a) Rulings of the presiding officer may not be appealed prior to or during the course of the hearing, or subsequent thereto, if the proceeding is still before him or her, except where the presiding officer finds it necessary to allow an appeal to the Commission to prevent substantial delay, expense, or detriment to the public interest, or undue prejudice to a party.

(b) Any party seeking to appeal must file a motion for leave to appeal no later than fifteen (15) days after written service or oral notice of the ruling in question, unless the presiding officer, for good cause shown, enlarges or shortens the time. Any such motion must contain the grounds for leave to appeal and the appeal itself.

(c) Replies to the motion for leave to appeal and the appeal may be filed within fifteen (15) days after date of service thereof, unless the presiding officer, for good cause shown, enlarges or shortens the time. If the motion is granted, the presiding officer must certify the appeal to the Commission.

(d) Unless otherwise provided, the certification of the appeal will not operate as a stay of the proceeding before the presiding officer.

(e) The provisions of § 502.10 do not apply to this section. [Rule 221.]

To the administrative law judges is delegated the authority to make and serve initial or recommended decisions. All initial and recommended decisions will include a statement of findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis therefor, upon all the material issues presented on the record, and the appropriate rule, order, sanction, relief, or denial thereof. Where appropriate, the statement of findings and conclusions should be numbered. Initial decisions should address only those issues necessary to a resolution of the material issues presented on the record. A copy of each decision when issued shall be served on the parties to the proceeding. In proceedings involving overcharge claims, the presiding officer may, where appropriate, require that the carrier publish notice in its tariff of the substance of the decision. This provision shall also apply to decisions issued pursuant to subpart T of this part. [Rule 223.]

The separation of functions as required by 5 U.S.C. 554(d) shall be observed in proceedings under subparts A to Q inclusive, of this part. [Rule 224.]

All final decisions will include a statement of findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis therefor, upon all the material issues presented on the record, and the appropriate rule, order, sanction, relief, or denial thereof. A copy of each decision when issued shall be served on the parties to the proceeding. This provision shall also apply to decisions issued pursuant to subpart T of this part. [Rule 225.]

(a) Official notice may be taken of such matters as might be judicially noticed by the courts, or of technical or scientific facts within the general knowledge of the Commission as an expert body, provided, that where a decision or part thereof rests on the official notice of a material fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, the fact of official notice shall be so stated in the decision, and any party, upon timely request, shall be afforded an opportunity to show the contrary.

(b) Whenever there is offered in evidence (in whole or in part) a public document, such as an official report, decision, opinion, or published scientific or economic statistical data issued by any of the executive departments (or their subdivisions), legislative agencies or committees, or administrative agencies of the Federal Government (including Government-owned corporations), or a similar document issued by a state or its agencies, and such document (or part thereof) has been shown by the offeror to be reasonably available to the public, such document need not be produced or marked for identification, but may be offered in evidence as a public document by specifying the document or relevant part thereof. [Rule 226.]

(a)(1) Within twenty-two (22) days after date of service of the initial decision, unless a shorter period is fixed under § 502.103, any party may file a memorandum excepting to any conclusions, findings, or statements contained in such decision, and a brief in support of such memorandum. Such exceptions and brief shall constitute one document, shall indicate with particularity alleged errors, shall indicate transcript page and exhibit number when referring to the record, and shall be served on all parties pursuant to subpart H of this part.

(2) Any adverse party may file and serve a reply to such exceptions within twenty-two (22) days after the date of service thereof, which shall contain appropriate transcript and exhibit references.

(3) Whenever the officer who presided at the reception of the evidence, or other qualified officer, makes an initial decision, such decision shall become the decision of the Commission thirty (30) days after date of service thereof (and the Secretary shall so notify the parties), unless within such 30-day period, or greater time as enlarged by the Commission for good cause shown, request for review is made in exceptions filed or a determination to review is made by the Commission on its own initiative.

(4) A decision or order of dismissal by an administrative law judge shall only be considered final for purposes of judicial review if the party has first sought review by the Commission pursuant to this section.

(5) Upon the filing of exceptions to, or review of, an initial decision, such decision shall become inoperative until the Commission determines the matter.

(6) Where exceptions are filed to, or the Commission reviews, an initial decision, the Commission, except as it may limit the issues upon notice or by rule, will have all the powers which it would have in making the initial decision. Whenever the Commission shall determine to review an initial decision on its own initiative, notice of such intention shall be served upon the parties.

(7) The time periods for filing exceptions and replies to exceptions, prescribed by this section, shall not apply to proceedings conducted under § 502.75.

(b)(1) If an administrative law judge has granted a motion for dismissal of the proceeding in whole or in part, any party desiring to appeal must file such appeal no later than twenty-two (22) days after service of the ruling on the motion in question.

(2) Any adverse party may file and serve a reply to an appeal under this paragraph within twenty-two (22) days after the appeal is served.

(3) The denial of a petition to intervene or withdrawal of a grant of intervention shall be deemed to be a dismissal within the meaning of this paragraph.

(c) Whenever an administrative law judge orders dismissal of a proceeding in whole or in part, such order, in the absence of appeal, shall become the order of the Commission thirty (30) days after date of service of such order (and the Secretary shall so notify the parties), unless within such 30-day period the Commission decides to review such order on its own motion, in which case notice of such intention shall be served upon the parties.

(d) The Commission shall not, on its own initiative, review any initial decision or order of dismissal unless such review is requested by an individual Commissioner. Any such request must be transmitted to the Secretary within thirty (30) days after date of service of the decision or order. Such request shall be sufficient to bring the matter before the Commission for review.

(e) All briefs and replies filed pursuant to this section shall ordinarily be limited to fifty (50) pages in length, exclusive of pages containing the table of contents, table of authorities, and certificate of service, unless the Commission allows the parties to exceed this limit for good cause shown and upon application filed not later than seven (7) days before the time fixed for filing of such a brief or reply. [Rule 227.]

Requests for enlargement of time to file exceptions, and briefs in support of such exceptions, or replies to exceptions, must conform to the applicable provisions of § 502.102. Any enlargement of time granted will automatically extend by the same period, the date for the filing of notice or review by the Commission. [Rule 228.]

The presiding or other officer shall certify and transmit the entire record to the Commission when (a) exceptions are filed or the time therefor has expired, (b) notice is given by the Commission that the initial decision will be reviewed on its own initiative, or (c) the Commission requires the case to be certified to it for initial decision. [Rule 229.]

(a) Reopening by the Commission. After an initial decision by the presiding officer, or in a matter otherwise pending before the Commission, but before issuance of a Commission decision, the Commission may, after petition and reply in conformity with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, or upon its own motion, reopen a proceeding for the purpose of taking further evidence.

(b) Motion to reopen. A motion to reopen shall be served in conformity with the requirements of subpart H and will set forth the grounds requiring reopening of the proceeding, including material changes of fact or law alleged to have occurred.

(c) Reply. Within ten (10) days following service of a motion to reopen, any party may reply to such motion.

(d) Remand by the Commission. Nothing contained in this rule precludes the Commission from remanding a proceeding to the presiding officer for the taking of addition evidence or determining points of law. [Rule 230.]