[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 22, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 22CFR171.52]



[Page 766-767]

 

                       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 767]]



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.