32 C.F.R. PART 1908—PUBLIC REQUESTS FOR MANDATORY DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION PURSUANT TO §3.6 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 12958
Title 32 - National Defense
Authority: Executive Orders 12958, 60 FR 19825, 3 CFR 1996 Comp., p. 333–356 (or successor Orders).
Source: 62 FR 32495, June 16, 1997, unless otherwise noted.
(a) Authority. This part is issued under the authority of and in order to implement §3.6 of Executive Order (E.O.) 12958 (or successor Orders); the CIA Information Act of 1984 (50 U.S.C. 431); sec. 102 of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended (50 U.S.C. 403); and sec. 6 of the CIA Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. 403g). (b) Purpose. This part prescribes procedures, subject to limitations set forth below, for members of the public to request a declassification review of information classified under the various provisions of this or predecessor Orders. Section 3.6 of E.O. 12958 and these regulations do not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, officers, or employees. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the meanings as indicated: (a) Agency or CIA means the United States Central Intelligence Agency acting through the CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator; (b) Days means calendar days when the Agency is operating and specifically excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays. Three (3) days may be added to any time limit imposed on a requester by this part if responding by U.S. domestic mail; ten (10) days may be added if responding by international mail; (c) Control means ownership or the authority of the CIA pursuant to Federal statute or privilege to regulate official or public access to records; (d) Coordinator means the CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator who serves as the Agency manager of the information review and release program instituted under the mandatory declassification review provisions of Executive Order 12958; (e) Federal agency means any executive department, military department, or other establishment or entity included in the definition of agency in 5 U.S.C. 552(f); (f) Information means any knowledge that can be communicated or documentary material, regardless of its physical form that is owned by, produced by or for, or under the control of the United States Government; it does not include: (1) Information within the scope of the CIA Information Act, or (2) Information originated by the incumbent President, White House Staff, appointed committees, commissions or boards, or any entities within the Executive Office that solely advise and assist the incumbent President; (g) Interested party means any official in the executive, military, congressional, or judicial branches of government, United States or foreign, or U.S. Government contractor who, in the sole discretion of the CIA, has a subject matter or physical interest in the documents or information at issue; (h) NARA means the National Archives and Records Administration; (i) Originator means the CIA officer who originated the information at issue, or successor in office, or a CIA officer who has been delegated declassification authority for the information at issue in accordance with the provisions of this Order; (j) Presidential libraries means the libraries or collection authorities established by statute to house the papers of former Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and similar institutions or authorities as may be established in the future; (k) Referral means coordination with or transfer of action to an interested party; (l) This Order means Executive Order 12958 of April 17, 1995 and published at 60 FR 19825–19843 (or successor Orders); For general information on this Part or to request a declassification review, please direct your communication to the Information and Privacy Coordinator, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC 20505. Such inquiries will also be accepted by facsimile at (703) 613–3007. For general or status information only, the telephone number is (703) 613–1287. Collect calls cannot be accepted. The Agency welcomes suggestions or complaints with regard to its administration of the mandatory declassification review program established under Executive Order 12958. Many requesters will receive pre-paid, customer satisfaction survey cards. Letters of suggestion or complaint should identify the specific purpose and the issues for consideration. The Agency will respond to all substantive communications and take such actions as determined feasible and appropriate. Members of the public shall address all communications to the point of contact specified above and clearly delineate the communication as a request under this regulation. Requests and appeals on requests received from members of the public who owe outstanding fees for information services under this Order or the Freedom of Information Act at this or another federal agency will not be accepted until such debts are resolved. The request shall identify the document(s) or material(s) with sufficient specificity (e.g., National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Document Accession Number or other applicable, unique document identifying number) to enable the Agency to locate it with reasonable effort. Broad or topical requests for records on a particular subject may not be accepted under this provision. A request for documents contained in the various Presidential libraries shall be effected through the staff of such institutions who shall forward the document(s) in question for Agency review. The requester shall also provide sufficient personal identifying information when required by the Agency to satisfy requirements of this part. Requests submitted via NARA or the various Presidential libraries shall be responsible for reproduction costs required by statute or regulation. Requests made directly to this Agency will be liable for costs in the same amount and under the same conditions as specified in 32 CFR part 1900. The Information and Privacy Coordinator shall within ten (10) days record each mandatory declassification review request received under this part, acknowledge receipt to the requester in writing (if received directly from a requester), and shall thereafter task the originator and other interested parties. Additional taskings, as required during the review process, shall be accomplished within ten (10) days of notification. The Coordinator shall respond to the requester and deny any request where the information in question has been the subject of a classification review within the previous two (2) years or is the subject of pending litigation in the federal courts. (a) In general. The originator of the classified information (document) is a required party to any mandatory declassification review request; other interested parties may become involved through a referral by the Coordinator when it is determined that some or all of the information is also within their official cognizance. (b) Required determinations. These parties shall respond in writing to the Coordinator with a finding as to the classified status of the information including the category of protected information as set forth in §1.5 of this Order, and, if older than ten (10) years, the basis for the extension of classification time under §§1.6 and 3.4 of this Order. These parties shall also provide a statement as to whether or not there is any other statutory, common law, or Constitutional basis for withholding as required by §6.1(c) of this Order. (c) Time. This response shall be provided expeditiously on a “first-in, first-out” basis taking into account the business requirements of the originator or interested parties and consistent with the information rights of members of the general public under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. The Coordinator shall communicate the decision of the Agency to the requester within ten (10) days of completion of all review action. That correspondence shall include a notice of a right of administrative appeal to the Agency Release Panel pursuant to §3.6(d) of this Order. Appeals of decisions must be received by the Coordinator within forty-five (45) days of the date of mailing of the Agency's initial decision. It shall identify with specificity the documents or information to be considered on appeal and it may, but need not, provide a factual or legal basis for the appeal. The Coordinator shall promptly record each appeal received under this part, acknowledge receipt to the requester, and task the originator and other interested parties. Additional taskings, as required during the review process, shall be accomplished within ten (10) days of notification. Each Deputy Director in charge of a directorate which originated or has an interest in any of the records subject to the appeal, or designee, is a required party to any appeal; other interested parties may become involved through the request of the Coordinator when it is determined that some or all of the information is also within their official cognizance. These parties shall respond in writing to the Coordinator with a finding as to the classified status of the information including the category of protected information as set forth in §1.5 of this Order, and, if older than ten (10) years, the basis for continued classification under §§1.6 and 3.4 of this Order. These parties shall also provide a statement as to whether or not there is any other statutory, common law, or Constitutional basis for withholding as required by §6.1(c) of this Order. This response shall be provided expeditiously on a “first-in, first-out” basis taking into account the business requirements of the parties and consistent with the information rights of members of the general public under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. (a) In general. Two administrative entities have been established by the Director of Central Intelligence to facilitate the processing of administrative appeals under the mandatory declassification review provisions of this Order. Their membership, authority, and rules of procedure are as follows. (b) Historical Records Policy Board (“HRPB” or “Board”). This Board, the successor to the CIA Information Review Committee, acts as the senior corporate board in the CIA on all matters of information review and release. It is composed of the Executive Director, who serves as its Chair, the Deputy Director for Administration, the Deputy Director for Intelligence, the Deputy Director for Operations, the Deputy Director for Science and Technology, the General Counsel, the Director of Congressional Affairs, the Director of the Public Affairs Staff, the Director, Center for the Study of Intelligence, and the Associate Deputy Director for Administration/Information Services, or their designees. The Board, by majority vote, may delegate to one or more of its members the authority to act on any appeal or other matter or authorize the Chair to delegate such authority, as long as such delegation is not to the same individual or body who made the initial denial. The Executive Secretary of the HRPB is the Director, Information Management. The Chair may request interested parties to participate when special equities or expertise are involved. (c) Agency Release Panel (“ARP” or “Panel”). The HRPB, pursuant to its delegation of authority, has established a subordinate Agency Release Panel. This Panel is composed of the Director, Information Management, who serves as its Chair; the Information Review Officers from the Directorates of Administration, Intelligence, Operations, Science and Technology, and the Director of Central Intelligence Area; the CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator; the Chief, Historical Review Group; the Chair, Publications Review Board; the Chief, Records Declassification Program; and representatives from the Offices of General Counsel and Congressional Affairs, and the Public Affairs Staff. The Information and Privacy Coordinator also serves as the Executive Secretary of the Panel. The Panel advises and assists the HRPB on all information release issues, monitors the adequacy and timeliness of Agency releases, sets component search and review priorities, reviews adequacy of resources available to and planning for all Agency release programs, and performs such other functions as deemed necessary by the Board. The Chair may request interested parties to participate when special equities or expertise are involved. The Panel, functioning as a committee of the whole or through individual members, will make final Agency decisions from appeals of initial denial decisions under E.O. 12958. Issues not resolved by the Panel will be referred by the Panel to the HRPB. Matters decided by the Panel or Board will be deemed a final decision by the Agency. (a) Action by Agency Release Panel. The Coordinator, in his or her capacity as Executive Secretary of the Agency Release Panel, shall place appeals of mandatory declassification review requests ready for adjudication on the agenda at the next occurring meeting of the Agency Release Panel. The Executive Secretary shall provide a summation memorandum for consideration of the members, the complete record of the request consisting of the request, the document(s) (sanitized and full text) at issue, and the findings of the originator and interested parties. The Panel shall meet and decide requests sitting as a committee of the whole. Decisions are by majority vote of those present at a meeting and shall be based on the written record and their deliberations; no personal appearances shall be permitted without the express permission of the Panel. (b) Action by Historical Records Policy Board. In any cases of divided vote by the ARP, any member of that body is authorized to refer the request to the CIA Historical Records Policy Board which acts as the senior corporate board for the Agency. The record compiled (the request, the memoranda filed by the originator and interested parties, and the previous decision(s)) as well as any memorandum of law or policy the referent desires to be considered, shall be certified by the Executive Secretary of the Agency Release Panel and shall constitute the official record of the proceedings and must be included in any subsequent filings. The Coordinator shall communicate the decision of the Panel or Board to the requester, NARA, or the particular Presidential Library within ten (10) days of such decision. That correspondence shall include a notice that an appeal of the decision may be made to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) established pursuant to §5.4 of this Order. A right of further appeal is available to the ISCAP established pursuant to §5.4 of this Order. Action by that Panel will be the subject of rules to be promulgated by the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO).
Title 32: National Defense
PART 1908—PUBLIC REQUESTS FOR MANDATORY DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION PURSUANT TO §3.6 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 12958
Section Contents
General
§ 1908.01 Authority and purpose.
§ 1908.02 Definitions.
§ 1908.03 Contact for general information and requests.
§ 1908.04 Suggestions and complaints.
Filing of Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) Requests
§ 1908.11 Preliminary information.
§ 1908.12 Requirements as to form.
§ 1908.13 Fees.
Agency Action on MDR Requests
§ 1908.21 Receipt, recording, and tasking.
§ 1908.22 Requests barred by res judicata.
§ 1908.23 Determination by originator or interested party.
§ 1908.24 Notification of decision and right of appeal.
Agency Action on MDR Appeals
§ 1908.31 Requirements as to time and form.
§ 1908.32 Receipt, recording, and tasking.
§ 1908.33 Determination by Deputy Director(s).
§ 1908.34 Establishment of appeals structure.
§ 1908.35 Action by appeals authority.
§ 1908.36 Notification of decision and right of further appeal.
Further Appeals
§ 1908.41 Right of further appeal.
General
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§ 1908.01 Authority and purpose.
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§ 1908.02 Definitions.
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§ 1908.03 Contact for general information and requests.
top
§ 1908.04 Suggestions and complaints.
top
Filing of Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) Requests
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§ 1908.11 Preliminary information.
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§ 1908.12 Requirements as to form.
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§ 1908.13 Fees.
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Agency Action on MDR Requests
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§ 1908.21 Receipt, recording, and tasking.
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§ 1908.22 Requests barred by res judicata.
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§ 1908.23 Determination by originator or interested party.
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§ 1908.24 Notification of decision and right of appeal.
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Agency Action on MDR Appeals
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§ 1908.31 Requirements as to time and form.
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§ 1908.32 Receipt, recording, and tasking.
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§ 1908.33 Determination by Deputy Director(s).
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§ 1908.34 Establishment of appeals structure.
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§ 1908.35 Action by appeals authority.
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§ 1908.36 Notification of decision and right of further appeal.
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Further Appeals
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§ 1908.41 Right of further appeal.
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