As used in this part the term:

(a) "Department" includes any bureau, office, or other unit of the Department of the Interior, whether in Washington, D.C., or in the field, and any officer or employee thereof;

(b) "Solicitor" means the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or his authorized representative;

(c) "Practice" includes any action taken to support or oppose the assertion of a right before the Department or to support or oppose a request that the Department grant a privilege; and the term "practice" includes any such action whether it relates to the substance of, or to the procedural aspects of handling, a particular matter. The term "practice" does not include the preparation or filing of an application, the filing without comment of documents prepared by one other than the individual making the filing, obtaining from the Department information that is available to the public generally, or the making of inquiries respecting the status of a matter pending before the Department. Also, the term "practice" does not include the representation of an employee who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administrative proceedings.

members of Indian tribes with the Department.

(b) Unless disqualified under the provisions of § 1.4 or by disciplinary action taken pursuant to § 1.6:

(1) Any individual who has been formally admitted to practice before the Department under any prior regulations and who is in good standing on December 31, 1963, shall be permitted to practice before the Department.

(2) Attorneys at law who are admitted to practice before the courts of any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the District Court of the Virgin Islands will be permitted to practice without filing an application for such privilege.

(3) An individual who is not otherwise entitled to practice before the Department may practice in connection with a particular matter on his own behalf or on behalf of (i) a member of his family; (ii) a partnership of which he is a member; (iii) a corporation, business trust, or an association, if such individual is an officer or full-time employee; (iv) a receivership, decedent's estate, or a trust or estate of which he is the receiver, administrator, or other similar fiduciary; (v) the lessee of a mineral lease that is subject to an operating agreement or sublease which has been approved by the Department and which grants to such individual a power of attorney; (vi) a Federal, State, county, district, territorial, or local government or agency thereof, or a government corporation, or a district or advisory board established pursuant to statute; or (vii) an association or class of individuals who have no specific interest that will be directly affected by the disposition of the particular matter.

§ 1.4 Disqualifications.

No individual may practice before the Department if such practice would violate the provisions of 18 U.S.C., secs. 203, 205, or 207.

§ 1.5 Signature to constitute certificate.

When an individual who appears in a representative capacity signs a paper in practice before the Department, his signature shall constitute his certificate:

(a) That under the provisions of this part and the law, he is authorized and qualified to represent the particular party in the matter;

(b) That, if he is the partner of a present or former officer or employee, including a special Government employee, the matter in respect of which he intends to practice is not a matter in which such officer or employee of the Government or special Government employee praticipates or has participated personally and substantially as a Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation or otherwise and that the matter is not the subject of such partner's official Government responsibility;

(c) That, if he is a former officer or employee, including a special Government employee, the matter in respect of which he intends to practice is not a matter in which he participated personally and substantially as a Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, while so employed and, if a period of one year has not passed since the termination of his employment with the Government, that the matter was not under his official responsibility as an officer or employee of the Government; and

(d) That he has read the paper; that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief there is good ground to support its contents; that it contains no scandalous or indecent matter; and that It is not interposed for delay.

§ 1.6 Disciplinary proceedings.

(a) Disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against anyone who is practicing or has practiced before the Department on grounds that he is incompetent, unethical, or unprofessional, or that he is practicing without authority under the provisions of this part, or that he has violated any provisions of the laws and regulations governing practice before the Department, or that he has been disbarred or suspended by any court or administrative agency. Individuals practicing before the Department should observe the Canons of Professional Ethics of the American Bar Association and those of the Federal Bar Association, by which the Department will be guided in disciplinary matters.

(b) Whenever in the discretion of the Solicitor the circumstances warrant consideration of the question whether disciplinary action should be taken against an individual who is practicing or has

practiced before the Department, the Solicitor shall appoint a hearing officer to consider and dispose of the case. The hearing officer shall give the individual adequate notice of, and an opportunity for a hearing on, the specific charges against him. The hearing shall afford the individual an opportunity to present. evidence and cross-examine witnesses.. The hearing officer shall render a decision either (1) dismissing the charges, or (2) reprimanding the individual or suspending or excluding him from practice before the Department.

(c) Within 30 days after receipt of the decision of the hearing officer reprimanding, suspending, or excluding an individual from practice before the Department, an appeal may be filed with the Solicitor, whose decision shall be final.

Records of the Department of the Interior which are available to the public may be inspected or copied by any person during the normal business hours at the office in which the records are located. Requests to inspect or to obtain copies of records shall be handled as promptly as possible with due regard for the dispatch of other public business. While there is no general requirement that requests to inspect must be in writing, applicants may be required to file written requests in instances in which such action will assist in the search for the records sought or in the orderly filling of such requests. A request to inspect or to obtain copies of a record must contain a reasonably specific description of the records sought.