Judicial Review of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Chicago Board of Trade v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 605 F.2d 1016 (7th Cir. 1979)

Authors

Terry Curtiss, University of Nebraska College of LawFollow

Abstract

In a September 1979 decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused to review an administrative decision to suspend trading in the Chicago Board of Trade wheat contracts made by the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC). Based on a provision of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which excepts from judicial review those actions which by law are committed to agency discretion, the court held that judicial review would inhibit the unfettered discretion which is necessary to effectively regulate the volatile futures area. This Note addresses the significance that this denial of judicial review has on the participants in the futures markets. No attempt is made to enter into the academic debate as to the definition of a futures market manipulation. The other enforcement powers of the CFTC are dealt with only peripherally. Additionally, this Note examines the effect an involuntary suspension of trading has on those utilizing the futures markets to hedge and the corresponding effect upon the speculators, the other essential participants in the futures markets.

Recommended Citation

Terry Curtiss, Judicial Review of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Chicago Board of Trade v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 605 F.2d 1016 (7th Cir. 1979), 60 Neb. L. Rev. (1981)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol60/iss1/7