[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR171.52]

[Page 721-722]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 171_AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC
--Table of Contents
 
                       Subpart F_Appeal Procedures
 
Sec. 171.52  Appeal of denial of access to, declassification of, 

amendment of, accounting of disclosures of, or challenge to 
classification of records.

    (a) Right of administrative appeal. Except for records that have 
been reviewed and withheld within the past two years or are the subject 
of litigation, any requester whose request for access to records, 
declassification of records, amendment of records, accounting of 
disclosures of records, or any authorized holder of classified 
information whose classification challenge has been denied, has a right 
to appeal the denial to the Department's Appeals Review Panel. This 
appeal right includes the right to appeal the determination by the 
Department that no records responsive to an access request exist in 
Department files. Privacy Act appeals may be made only by the individual 
to whom the records pertain.
    (b) Form of appeal. There is no required form for an appeal. 
However, it is essential that the appeal contain a clear statement of 
the decision or determination by the Department being appealed. When 
possible, the appeal should include argumentation and documentation to 
support the appeal and to contest the bases for denial cited by the 
Department. The appeal should be sent to: Chairman, Appeals Review

[[Page 722]]

Panel, c/o Information and Privacy Coordinator/Appeals Officer, at the 
address given in Sec. 171.5.
    (c) Time limits. The appeal should be received within 60 days of the 
date of receipt by the requester of the Department's denial. The time 
limit for response to an appeal begins to run on the day that the appeal 
is received. The time limit (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 
public holidays) for agency decision on an administrative appeal is 20 
days under the FOIA (which may be extended for up to an additional 10 
days in unusual circumstances) and 30 days under the Privacy Act (which 
the Panel may extend an additional 30 days for good cause shown). The 
Panel shall decide mandatory declassification review appeals as promptly 
as possible.
    (d) Notification to appellant. The Chairman of the Appeals Review 
Panel shall notify the appellant in writing of the Panel's decision on 
the appeal. When the decision is to uphold the denial, the Chairman 
shall include in his notification the reasons therefore. The appellant 
shall be advised that the decision of the Panel represents the final 
decision of the Department and of the right to seek judicial review of 
the Panel's decision, when applicable. In mandatory declassification 
review appeals, the Panel shall advise the requester of the right to 
appeal the decision to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals 
Panel under Sec. 3.5(d) of E.O. 12958.
    (e) Procedures in Privacy Act amendment cases. (1) If the Panel's 
decision is that a record shall be amended in accordance with the 
appellant's request, the Chairman shall direct the office responsible 
for the record to amend the record, advise all previous recipients of 
the record of the amendment and its substance if an accounting of 
disclosure has been made, and so advise the individual in writing.
    (2) If the Panel's decision is that the request of the appellant to 
amend the record is denied, in addition to the notification required by 
paragraph (d) of this section, the Chairman shall advise the appellant:
    (i) Of the right to file a concise statement of the reasons for 
disagreeing with the decision of the Department;
    (ii) Of the procedures for filing the statement of disagreement;
    (iii) That any statement of disagreement that is filed will be made 
available to anyone to whom the record is subsequently disclosed, 
together with, at the discretion of the Department, a brief statement by 
the Department summarizing its reasons for refusing to amend the record;
    (iv) That prior recipients of the disputed record will be provided a 
copy of any statement of disagreement, to the extent that an accounting 
of disclosures was maintained.
    (3) If the appellant files a statement under paragraph (e)(2) of 
this section, the Department will clearly annotate the record so that 
the fact that the record is disputed is apparent to anyone who may 
subsequently have access to the record. When information that is the 
subject of a statement of dispute filed by an individual is subsequently 
disclosed, the Department will note that the information is disputed and 
provide a copy of the individual's statement. The Department may also 
include a brief summary of reasons for not amending the record when 
disclosing disputed information. Copies of the Department's statement 
shall be treated as part of the individual's record for granting access; 
however, it will not be subject to amendment by an individual under 
these regulations.