§ 171.35 Requests for amending records.

(a) An individual has the right to request that the Department amend a record pertaining to her or him which the individual believes is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete. At the time the Department grants access to a record it will also furnish guidelines for requesting amendments to the record. These guidelines will also be available in the public reading room in the Department of State, Washington, D.C. between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for legal public holidays, or may be obtained by writing the Information and Privacy Coordinator, Foreign Affairs Information Management Center, Department of State, Room 1239, Washington, D.C. 20520.

(b) Requests for amending records must be in writing and mailed or delivered to the Information and Privacy Coordinator, Foreign Affairs Information Management Center, Department of State, Room 1239, Washington, D.C. 20520, who will coordinate the review of the request to amend a record with the appropriate office(s). The Department will require verification of personal identity as provided § 154.5(c)(3) of these regulations before it will initiate action to amend a record to ensure that the requester is not deliberately or inadvertently seeking to change records about other persons. Such requests should contain, as a minimum, identifying information needed to locate the record, a brief description of the items of information to be amended, and the nature of the requested amendment. The requester should submit as much documentation, arguments or other data as seems warranted to support her/his request for amendment.

(c) All requests for amendments to records will be acknowledged within 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). Whenever possible all requests for amendments to records will be reviewed within 10 days (exluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of their receipt by the Office responsible for the record, and the requester will be advised of the results of the review. In those cases where the review cannot be completed within 10 days, the re

quester will be so advised and informed when the review will be completed. Except in unusual circumstances, this review will be completed no later than 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after receipt of the request to amend a record.

(d) In reviewing a record in response to a request to amend, the Department shall determine whether the record is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the agency and shall incorporate the criteria of accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness of the record in that review.

(e) If the office responsible for the record agrees with an individual's request to amend a record, it shall:

(1) Advise the individual in writing; (2) Amend the record accordingly; and

(3) If an accounting of disclosure has been made, advise all previous recipients of the record of the amendment and its substance.

(f) If the office responsible for the record, after an initial review of a request to amend a record disagrees with all or any portion of the requested amendment, an officer at the Deputy Assistant Secretary level or equivalent, shall:

(1) Advise the individual of its refusal and the reasons for it; and

(2) Inform the individual that she or he may request a further review in accordance with Subpart G.

Subpart E-Ethics in Government Provisions

§ 171.40 Covered employees.

(a) Officers and employees, including special government employees, whose positions are classified at grades GS-16 and above or at any equivalent rate under another pay schedule;

(b) Officers or employees in a position determined by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics to be of equal classification to GS-16;

(c) Employees in the excepted service in positions which are of a confidential or policy-making nature unless an employee or groups of employees are exempted by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics;

(d) The designated agency official who acts as the Department's Ethics Officer; and

(e) Individuals who are nominated for positions requiring Senate confirmation by the President but who are not subsequently confirmed by the Senate.

§ 171.41 Identifying information.

(a) The name and/or position title of the Department of State official who is subject of the request,

(b) The time period covered by the report requested, and

(c) Completion of an Ethics Request Form.

§ 171.42 Time limits.

(a) Reports shall be made available to the public within fifteen (15) days after receipt by the Department.

(b) Reports shall be retained by the Department and made available to the public for a period of six (6) years. The exceptions are those reports which are filed by individuals who are nominated for office by the President and are not confirmed by the Senate; those reports will be retained and made available for a one-year period.

§ 171.43 Access to, and use of, reports.

The Attorney General is authorized to bring a civil action against any person who obtains or uses a financial disclosure report:

(a) For any unlawful purpose;

(b) For any commercial purpose, other than for news or community dissemination to the general public;

(c) For determining or establishing the credit rating of any individual; or

(d) For use, directly or indirectly, in the solicitation of money for any political, charitable, or other purpose. The court may assess a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 against any person who obtains or uses the reports for these prohibited purposes; an additional remedy as available under statutory or common law may also be assessed at the discretion of the court.

Subpart F-Denial Procedures

§ 171.50 Denials of access or of amendment.

The decision to deny an individual access to records, or to deny an amendment request under Privacy Act provisions shall be made by: (a) The Department official of a rank not below the Deputy Assistant Secretary or equivalent level who is responsible for the system of records involved, (b) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Classification/Declassification Center, or her/his designees, (c) the Director/Deputy Director of Mandatory Review and the Director of Systematic Review in A/CDC, and (d) officials designated by the Under Secretary for Management/Chairman of the Oversight Committee for E.O. 12065. When an authorized official denies access to a record or portion thereof, the official will advise the individual in writing of the denial and the specific reasons therefor. The denial letter will also advise the individual of her/his right to seek administrative review of the Department's decision.

Subpart G-Appeals Procedures

§ 171.60 Appeal of denial of access to records.

(a) Review of an initial denial of access to a record under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), or Executive Order 12065 may be requested by the individual who submitted the initial request for access. The request for review (hereinafter referred to as the appeal) must be in writing and should be sent by certified mail to the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Chairperson, Appeals Review Panels, Department of State, 2201 C street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20520. The appeal should be received within 60 days of the date of receipt by the appellant of the Department's refusal to grant access to a record in whole or in part.

(b) The time for decision on the appeal begins on the date the appeal is received by the Chairperson, Appeals Review Panels. The appeal of a denial

of access to records shall include any documentation, information and statements to support the individual's request for access and to refute the use of the exemption(s) cited in the Department's justification concerning

the denial of access.

(c) The Chairperson of the Appeals Panels or her/his designee and at least two other members chosen by her/ him from a list of senior officers designated for this purpose by the various bureaus of the Department shall constitute a panel to consider and decide the appeal. There shall be a written record of the reasons for the final determination. The final determination will be made within 30 working days for executive order and Privacy Act appeals, and within 20 working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) for FOIA appeals. For good cause shown, the Chairperson of the Appeals Review Panels may extend such determination beyond the 30-day period in Privacy Act cases.

(d) The Chairperson shall then notify the requester in writing of the panel's decision to grant access and of the Department's regulations concerning access.

(e) When the final decision of the Panel is to refuse to grant an individual access to a record, the Chairperson of the Panel shall advise the individual in writing:

(1) Of the refusal to grant the appeal and the reasons therefor including the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, and/or Executive Order 12065 under which access is denied;

(2) Of her/his right to seek judicial review of the Department's decision, where applicable.

[45 FR 58108, Sept. 2, 1980, as amended at 49 FR 16990, Apr. 23, 1984]

§ 171.61 Appeal of refusal to amend records.

(a) Review of an initial refusal to amend a record under the Privacy Act of 1974 may be requested by the individual who submitted the initial request for amendment. The review (hereinafter referred to as the appeal) should be requested in writing within 60 days of the date the individual is informed of the Department's refusal to

amend a record in whole or in part. The appeal must be in writing and should be sent by certified mail to the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Chairperson, Appeals Review Panels, Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW. Washington, D.C. 20520.

(b) The time for decision on the appeal begins on the date the appeal is received by the Chairperson, Appeals Review Panels. The appeal should include any documentation, information or statements advanced for the amendment of the record.

(c) The Chairperson of the Appeals Review Panels and two other members of the Panels designated by him shall constitute a panel to consider and decide the appeal; there shall be a written record of the reasons for the final determination. The final determination will be made within 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays), unless for good cause shown, the Chairperson of the Appeals Review Panels extends such determination beyond the 30-day period.

(d) When the final determination is that the record should be amended in accordance with the individual's request, the Chairperson of the Appeals Review Panels shall direct the office responsible for the record to comply. A responsible official of the Department shall then:

(1) Amend the records as directed;

(2) If any accounting of the disclosure has been made, advise all previous recipients of the record of the amendment and its substance;

(3) So advise the individual in writing.

(e) When the final decision is that the request of the individual to amend the record is refused, the Chairperson of the Panels shall advise the individual:

(1) Of the refusal and the reasons for it;

(2) Of her and his right to file a concise statement of the reasons for disagreeing with the decision of the Department;

(3) Of the procedures for filing the statement of disagreement;

(4) That the statement which is filed will be made available to anyone to whom the record is subsequently dis

closed together with, at the discretion of the Department, a brief statement by the Department summarizing its reasons for refusing to amend the record;

(5) That prior recipients of the disputed record will be provided a copy of any statement of dispute to the extent that an accounting of disclosures was maintained; and

(6) Of her/his right to seek judicial review of the Department's refusal to amend the record.

(f) When the final determination is to refuse to amend a record and the individual has filed a statement under paragraph (e) 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, use, or disclose it. 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 the reasons for not making a correction when disclosing disputed information. Such statements will normally be limited to the reasons given to the individual for not amending the record. 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 the individual under these regulations.

[45 FR 58108, Sept. 2, 1980, as amended at 49 FR 16990, Apr. 23, 1984]

Subpart H-Other Agency Material § 171.70 Referral.

While processing a request for access, the Department may locate in its files documents originated by other Federal agencies. The Department shall refer the documents to the originating agency for review and possible declassification and release to the requester. The originating agency is then responsible for contacting the requester directly concerning the release of the material and for notifying the Department of its determination. The Department of State will notify the requester of the referral unless the association of the reviewing agency with the information requires protection in the interest of national security.

§ 171.71 Concurrence.

While processing a request for access, the Department may locate Department of State documents containing information originated by or of substantive interest to other Federal agencies. The Department shall refer these documents or portions thereof to the originating or interested agency for review, possible declassification and concurrence regarding the documents' release. The other agency will then return the documents to the Department so that it may contact the requester regarding the material.

181.6 Documentation and certification. 181.7 Transmittal to the Congress.

AUTHORITY: 1 U.S.C. 112b; 22 U.S.C. 2658; 22 U.S.C. 3312.

SOURCE: 46 FR 35918, July 13, 1981, unless otherwise noted.

§ 181.1

Purpose and application.

(a) The purpose of this part is to implement the provisions of 1 U.S.C. 112b, popularly known as the Case-Zablocki Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), on the reporting to Congress and coordination with the Secretary of State of international agreements of the United States. This part applies to all agencies of the U.S. Government whose responsibilities include the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements. This part does not, however, constitute a delegation by the Secretary of State of the authority to engage in such activities. Further, it does not affect any additional requirements of law governing the relationship between particular agencies and the Secretary of State in connection with international negotiations and agreements, or any other requirements of law concerning the relationship between particular agencies and the Congress. The term “agency” as used in this part means each authority of the United States Government, whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency.

(b) Pursuant to the key legal requirements of the Act-full and timely disclosure to the Congress of all concluded agreements and consultation by agencies with the Secretary of State with respect to proposed agreements-every agency of the Government is required to comply with each of the provisions set out in this part in

implementation of the Act. Nevertheless, this part is intended as a framework of measures and procedures which, it is recognized, cannot anticipate all circumstances or situations that may arise. Deviation or derogation from the provisions of this part will not affect the legal validity, under United States law or under international law, of agreements concluded, will not give rise to a cause of action, and will not affect any public or private rights established by such agreements.

§ 181.2 Criteria.

(a) General. The following criteria are to be applied in deciding whether any undertaking, oral agreement, document, or set of documents, including an exchange of notes or of correspondence, constitutes an international agreement within the meaning of the Act, as well as within the meaning of 1 U.S.C. 112a, requiring the publication of international agreements. Each of the criteria except those in paragraph (a)(5) of this section must be met in order for any given undertaking of the United States to constitute an international agreement.

(1) Identity and intention of the parties. A party to an international agreement must be a state, a state agency, or an intergovernmental organization. The parties must intend their undertaking to be legally binding, and not merely of political or personal effect. Documents intended to have political or moral weight, but not intended to be legally binding, are not international agreements. An example of the latter is the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Cooperation and Security in Europe. In addition, the parties must intend their undertaking to be governed by international law, although this intent need not be manifested by a third-party dispute settlement mechanism or any express reference to international law. In the absence of any provision in the arrangement with respect to governing law, it will be presumed to be governed by international law. This presumption may be overcome by clear evidence, in