New Executive Order No. 12,958 | Old Executive Order No. 12,356 |
Requires agencies to commit resources and to take specific actions within limited time periods if they want to maintain classification of records of permanent historical value. | Agencies required to take specific actions and commit resources in order to declassify records; otherwise, most records retain their classification status indefinitely. |
Specifies that most information
classified under this order remains classified for a period of 10 years
only, subject to narrow exceptions. |
No such time limit; information remained classified
as long as national security required. |
If there is "significant" doubt,
information shall not be classified; provision does not create any judicial
review right. |
In case of "reasonable" doubt, information
protected as classified, pending final agency decision within 30 days. |
Eliminates previous presumption
that certain particular categories of national security information are
classified. |
Release of foreign government information, identity
of confidential foreign source, or intelligence sources or methods was presumed
to cause damage to national security. |
Prohibits reclassification of any
information that is disclosed under proper authority. |
President, agency head, or other official as
specified in order could reclassify information previously declassified
and disclosed if the information required protection in the interests of
national security and was retrievable by the agency. |
Information may be classified after
receipt of FOIA/PA request or Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request
only by specified senior agency officials and only on a document-by-document
basis. |
Agency head or other official as specified in
order could classify or reclassify information after receipt of FOIA/PA
request or MDR request. |
Authorizes a "balancing test" in
the declassification process; provision does not create any judicial review
right. |
Contained no "balancing test" provision. |
Requires "classified why" markings
on each document, giving concise reasons for classification. |
No such requirement. |
Use of "Originating Agency's Determination
Required" (OADR) as declassification instruction not permitted. |
Authorized use of "OADR" as declassification
marking, although agencies were encouraged to name a date or event. |
Authorized holders (i.e., personnel
at the agency or at another agency) encouraged to challenge classification
decisions, without retribution. |
No such provision. |
Requires automatic declassification
of permanently valuable records over 25 years old, with 9 limited exceptions.
Applies to records classified under prior orders. Five-year deadline for
accomplishment. |
No such requirement. |
Requires all agencies to establish
"systematic declassification review" programs. |
Except for records at the National Archives,
systematic review was encouraged but not required. |
Requires establishment by the National
Archives of a governmentwide declassification database. |
No such requirement. |
Establishes new Interagency Security
Classification Appeals Panel for review of MDR decisions, classification
challenges by agency personnel, and agency requests for exemptions. |
Agencies' MDR decisions could not be
appealed to any outside entity, except in the case of donated historical
records maintained by the National Archives. |
Establishes new Information Security
Policy Advisory Council of nongovernment experts to recommend subject areas
for systematic declassification review and to advise on classification system
policies. |
No such provision. |
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