264
Opinion of the Court
achieve the Act's purposes and to perform the administrative duties the Act prescribes," id., at 126. We expressed no view on the question whether the Director can appear before the court of appeals, not as a petitioner seeking review, but as a respondent. Id., at 127, n. 2.
Any impediment to the Director's appearance as a respondent in this case is not of constitutional origin. As we stated in Newport News, although the Director had no statutory authorization to petition the Court of Appeals, "Congress could have conferred standing upon the Director without infringing Article III of the Constitution." Id., at 133. In light of this observation, Article III surely poses no bar to the Director's participation as a respondent in those courts. Cf. Diamond v. Charles, 476 U. S. 54, 68-69 (1986) (reserving question whether persons seeking to intervene "must satisfy not only the requirements of [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 24(a)(2), but also the requirements of Art. III").
Whether the Director has statutory authority to appear as a respondent before the courts of appeals is not as easily resolved. The Act itself does not speak to the issue. Section 21(c) of the Act, by its very terms, defines only who "may obtain a review of [a final order of the Board]," 33 U. S. C. § 921(c); it does not purport to delineate who may appear in those proceedings once a proper party initiates them. Thus, we must reject Ingalls' argument that § 21(c) requires the Director to demonstrate an "advers[e] [e]ffect or aggriev[ement]" in order to appear as a respondent.
Section 21a of the Act, 33 U. S. C. § 921a, similarly provides no authorization. While § 21a states that "[a]ttorneys appointed by the Secretary shall represent the Secretary, the deputy commissioner, or the Board in any court proceedings under section 921 of this title or other provisions of this chapter," it says nothing about when the Secretary may be a party to those proceedings in the first place. See also 20 CFR § 802.410(b) (1996) ("The Director, OWCP, . . . shall be
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