Trans-Pacific Freight Conference of Japan v. Federal Maritime Commission and United States of America

This is a petition seeking review of an order of the Federal Maritime Commission which required the petitioners to cancel certain fines assessed against States Marine Lines, Inc., a member of the petitioning conference. The petition is addressed to this court pursuant to the provisions of the Act of December 29, 1950, 64 Stat. 1129 , 5 U.S.C. § 1032 . The petitioners are the conference above named and some of the individual ship ping companies, common carriers by water, who are members of that conference.

On March 12, 1959, and thereafter, the conference agreement (filed with the Federal Maritime Board pursuant to § 15 of the Shipping Act, 1916, hereafter referred to) contained a provision whereby a so-called “Neutral Body,” appointed by the conference, was authorized to receive complaints respecting alleged violations of provisions of the agreement by members of the conference, to determine whether such infringement had taken place, and to levy fines for offenses, the fines ranging from a maximum of $10,000 for the first offense to a maximum of $30,000 for a fourth offense.

The Neutral Body successively assessed two fines against States Marine, one for $10,000, the other for…