1It shall be the duty of the Attorney General of the United States immediately to inquire into the facts of cases reported to him by customs officers and the laws applicable thereto, and if it appears probable that any fine, penalty, or forfeiture has been incurred by reason of such violation, for the recovery of which the institution of proceedings in the United States district court or the Court of International Trade is necessary, forthwith to cause the proper proceedings to be commenced and prosecuted, without delay, for the recovery of such fine, penalty, or forfeiture in such case provided, unless, upon inquiry and examination, the Attorney General decides that such proceedings can not probably be sustained or that the ends of public justice do not require that they should be instituted or prosecuted, in which case he shall report the facts to the Secretary of the Treasury for his direction in the premises.
June 17, 1930, ch. 49746 Stat. 754Pub. L. 91–271, title III, § 301(bb)84 Stat. 291Pub. L. 96–417, title VI, § 61094 Stat. 1746(, title IV, § 604, ; , , ; , , .)
Editorial Notes
Codification
section 1603 of this titleAs enacted by act , the catchline for this section was “Same—prosecution”, as this section was intended to be read as a continuation of the provisions introduced in sections 1602 and 1603 of this title. The use of “such” in text is meant to refer back to .
Prior Provisions
act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 60442 Stat. 984Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in , . That section was superseded by section 604 of act , comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.
act June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 1518 Stat. 189act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV42 Stat. 989Prior provisions substantially similar in effect, with a further provision for an allowance for expenses and services, were contained in R.S. § 3085. Provisions requiring district attorneys to cause investigations to be made before a United States commissioner and to initiate and prosecute proper proceedings to recover fines and penalties were contained in , . Both of these sections were repealed by , §§ 642, 643, .
The 1922 act also superseded a provision contained in R.S. § 3087, requiring collectors to cause suits to be commenced without delay and prosecuted to effect.
Amendments
Pub. L. 96–4171980— substituted “the Attorney General of the United States” and “the Attorney General” for “every United States district attorney” and “such district attorney”, respectively, and authorized institution of proceedings in the Court of International Trade.
Pub. L. 91–2711970— substituted reference to customs officers for reference to collectors.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Pub. L. 96–417section 701(a) of Pub. L. 96–417section 251 of Title 28Amendment by effective , and applicable with respect to civil actions pending on or commenced on or after such date, see , set out as a note under , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1970 Amendment
Pub. L. 91–271section 203 of Pub. L. 91–271section 1500 of this titleFor effective date of amendment by , see , set out as a note under .