Title 15 - COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Subpart A--Freedom of Information Act

Sec. 4.10  Appeals from initial determinations or untimely delays.

    (a) If a request for records is initially denied in whole or in 
part, or has not been timely determined, or if a requester receives an 
adverse initial determination regarding any other matter under this 
subpart (as described in Sec. 4.7(b)), the requester may file a written 
appeal, which must be received by the Office of General Counsel within 
thirty calendar days of the date of the written denial or, if there has 
been no determination, may be submitted anytime after the due date, 
including the last extension under Sec. 4.6(c), of the determination.
    (b) Appeals shall be decided by the Assistant General Counsel for 
Administration (AGC-Admin), except that appeals from requests initially 
denied by the AGC-Admin shall be decided by the General Counsel. 
Appeals should be addressed to the AGC-Admin, or the General Counsel if 
the records were initially denied by the AGC-Admin. The address of both 
is: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of General Counsel, Room 5875, 
14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230. Both the 
letter and the appeal envelope should be clearly marked ``Freedom of 
Information Appeal''. The appeal must include a copy of the original 
request, the initial denial, if any, and a statement of the reasons why 
the records requested should be made available and why the initial 
denial, if any, was in error. No opportunity for personal appearance, 
oral argument or hearing on appeal is provided.
    (c) Upon receipt of an appeal involving records initially denied on 
the basis of FOIA exemption (b)(1), the records shall be forwarded to 
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security (DAS) for a 
declassification review. The DAS may overrule previous classification 
determinations in whole or in part if continued protection in the 
interest of national security is no longer required, or no longer 
required at the same level. The DAS shall advise the AGC-Admin, or the 
General Counsel, as appropriate, of his or her decision.
    (d) If an appeal is granted, the person who filed the appeal shall 
be immediately notified and copies of the releasable documents shall be 
made available promptly thereafter upon receipt of appropriate fees 
determined in accordance with Sec. 4.11.
    (e) If no determination on an appeal has been sent to the requester 
within the twenty working day period specified in Sec. 4.6(b) or the 
last extension thereof, the requester is deemed to have exhausted all 
administrative remedies with respect to the request, giving rise to a 
right of judicial review under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(C). If the requester 
initiates a court action against the Department based on the provision 
in this paragraph, the administrative appeal process may continue.
    (f) The determination on an appeal shall be in writing and, when it 
denies records in whole or in part, the letter to the requester shall 
include:
    (1) A brief explanation of the basis for the denial, including a
list of the applicable FOIA exemptions and a description of how they 
apply;
    (2) A statement that the decision is final for the Department;
    (3) Notification that judicial review of the denial is available in 
the district court of the United States in the district in which the 
requester resides, or has his or her principal place of business, or in 
which the agency records are located, or in the District of Columbia; 
and
    (4) The name and title or position of the official responsible for 
denying the appeal.