[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 22, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 22CFR171.61] [Page 724-725] TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE PART 171_AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC--Table of Contents Subpart G_Appeals Procedures Sec. 171.61 Appeal of refusal to amend rec ords. (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, DC 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 [[Page 725]] 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 disclosed 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]