CHAPTER VII-OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT COUNSEL Page Part 700 641 Production or disclosure of material or informa tion of the Office of Independent Counsel Procedures for disclosure of records under the Freedom of Information Act 701 651 PART 700—PRODUCTION OR DIS- forth the procedures by which an indiCLOSURE OF MATERIAL OR IN vidual may seek access under the PriFORMATION OF THE OFFICE OF vacy Act to records pertaining to him, INDEPENDENT COUNSEL may request correction of such records, or may seek an accounting of disclo sures of such records by the office. Subpart A-Protection of Privacy and Ac (b) Transfer of law-enforcement records. cess to Individual Records Under the The head of the Office, or his designee, Privacy Act of 1974 is authorized to make written requests Sec. under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(7) for transfer of 700.10 General provisions. records maintained by other agencies 700.11 Request for access to records. that are necessary to carry out an au700.12 Responses to requests for access to thorized law-enforcement activity of records. the Office. 700.13 Form and content of Office responses. (c) Definitions. As used in this sub700.14 Classified information. 700.15 Records part, the following terms shall have in exempt systems of records. the following meanings: 700.16 Access to records. (1) Agency has the meaning given in 5 700.17 Fees for access to records. U.S.C. 551(1) and 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(1). 700.18 Appeals from denials of access. (2) Record has the same meaning 700.19 Preservation of records. given in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4). 700.20 Requests for correction of records. (3) Request for access means a request 700.21 Records not subject to correction. made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(1). 700.22 Request for accounting of record dis (4) Request for correction means a reclosures. 700.23 Notice of subpoenas and emergency quest made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. disclosures. 552a(d)(2). 700.24 Security of systems of records. (5) Request for an accounting means a 700.25 Use and collection of social security request made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. numbers. 552a(c)(3). 700.26 Employee standards of conduct. (6) Requester means an individual who 700.27 Other rights and services. makes either a request for access, a re quest for correction, or a request for an Subpart B-Exemption of the Office of accounting. Independent Counsel's Systems of (7) System of records means a group of Records Under the Privacy Act any group of any records under the 700.31 Exemption of the Office of Inde- control of the Office from which infor pendent Counsel's systems of records- mation is retrieved by the name of an limited access. individual or by some identifying numAUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 552a. ber, symbol, or other identifying par ticular assigned to that individual. SOURCE: 52 FR 48097, Dec. 18, 1987, unless otherwise noted. $ 700.11 Request for access to records. Subpart A-Protection of Privacy (a) Procedure for making requests for access to records. An individual may reand Access Access to Individual quest access to a record about him by Records Under the Privacy appearing in person or by writing the Act of 1974 Office. A requester in need of guidance in defining his request may write to $ 700.10 General provisions. the FOIA/PA Officer, Office of Inde(a) Purpose and scope. The subpart pendent Counsel, suite 701 West, 555 contains the regulations of the Office Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, of Independent Counsel implementing DC 20004. Both the envelope and the rethe Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a. quest itself should be marked: “PriThe regulations apply to all records vacy Act Request." that are contained in systems of (b) Description of records sought. A rerecords maintained by the Office of quest for access to records must deIndependent Counsel and that are re- scribe the records sought in sufficient trieved by an individual's name or per- detail to enable Office personnel to losonal identifier. These regulations set cate the system of records containing (2) That he is the parent or guardian of the subject of the record, which may be proved by providing a copy of the subject's birth certificate showing parentage or by providing a court order establishing the guardianship, and (3) That he seeks to act on behalf of the subject of the record. or the record with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, a request for access should describe the nature of the records sought, the date of the record the period in which the record was compiled, and the name or identifying number of the system of records in which the requester believes the record is kept. (c) Agreement to pay fees. The filing of a request for access to a record under this subpart shall be deemed to constitute an agreement to pay all applicable fees charged under $700.17 up to $25.00. The Office shall confirm this agreement in its letter of acknowledgment to the requesters. When filing a request, a requester may specifiy a willingness to pay a greater amount, if applicable. (d) Verification of identity. Any individual who submits a request for access to records must verify his identity in one of the following ways, unless the notice published in the FEDERAL REGISTER describing the relevant system of records provides otherwise. (1) Any requester making a request in writing must state in his request his full name, current address, and date and place of birth. In addition, a requester must provide with his request an example of his signature, which shall be notarized. In order to facilitate the identification and location of the requested records, a requester may also, at his option, include in his request his Social Security number. (2) Any requester submitting a request in person may provide to the Office a form of Official photographic identification, such as a passport or an identification badge. If a requester is unable to produce a form of photographic identification, he may provide to the Office two or more acceptable forms of identification (such as a driver's license or credit card) bearing his name and address. (e) Verification of guardianship. The parent or guardian of a minor (or the guardian of a person judicially determined to be incompetent) who submits a request for access to the records of the minor or incompetent must establish: (1) His own identity and the identity of the subject of the record, as required in paragraph (d) of this section, $ 700.12 Responses to requests for ac cess to records. (a) Authority to grant or deny requests. The head of the Office, or his designee, is authorized to grant or deny any request for access to a record. (b) Initial action by the Office. When the Office receives a request for access to a record in its possession, the Office shall promptly determine whether another Government agency is better able to determine whether the record is exempt, to any extent, from access. If the Office determines that it is the agency best able to determine whether the record is exempt, to any extent, from access, then the Office shall respond to the request. If the Office determines that it is not the agency best able to determine whether the record is exempt from access, the Office shall respond to the request, after consulting with the agency best able to determine whether the record is exempt from access. Under ordinary circumstances, the agency that generated or originated a requested record shall be presumed to be the agency best able to determine whether the record is exempt from access. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit the agency that generated or originated a requested record from consulting with the Office, if the agency that generated or originated the requested record determines that the Office has an interest in the requested record or the information contained therein. (c) Law-enforcement information. Whenever a request for access is made for a record containing information that relates to an investigation of a possible violation of criminal law or to a criminal law-enforcement proceeding and that was generated or originated by another agency, the Office shall consult with that other agency, as appropriate. (d) Classified information. Whenever a request for access is made for a record or containing information that has been classified, or that may be eligible for classification, by another agency under the provision of Executive Order 12356 any other Executive order concerning the classification of records, the Office shall refer the responsibilities for responding to the request to the agency that classified the information or should consider the information for classification. Whenever a record contains information that has been derivatively classified by the Office because it contains information classified by another agency, the Office shall refer the responsibility for responding to the request to the agency that classified the underlying information; however, such referral shall extend only to the information classified by the other agency. (e) Agreements regarding consultations. No provision of this section shall preclude formal or informal agreements between the Office and another agency, to eliminate the need for consultations concerning requests or classes of requests. (f) Date for determining responsive records. In determining records responsive to a request for access, the Office ordinarily will include only those records within the Office's possession and control as of the date of its receipt of the request. Privacy Act exemption or exemptions that the Office has relied upon in denying the request and a brief explanation of the manner in which the exemption or exemptions apply to each record withheld; and (3) A statement that the denial may be appealed under $ 700.18(a) and a description of the requirements of that subsection. (c) Record cannot be located or has been destroyed. If a requested record cannot be located from the information supplied, or is known or believed to have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of, the Office shall so notify the requester in writing. (d) Medical records. When an individual requests medical records pertaining to himself that are not otherwise exempt from individual access, the Office may advise the individual that the records will be provided only to a physician, designated by the individual, who requests the records and establishes his identity in writing. The designated physician shall determine which records should be provided to the individual and which records should not be disclosed to the individual because of possible harm to the individual or another person. 8700.13 Form and content of Office re sponses. (a) Form of notice granting request for access. After the Office has made a determination to grant a request for access in whole or in part, the Office shall so notify the requester in writing. The notice shall describe the manner in which access to the record will be granted and shall inform the requester of any fees to be charged in accordance with $ 700.17. (b) Form of notice denying request for access. When the Office denies a request for access in whole or in part it shall so notify the requester in writing. The notice shall be signed by the head of the Office, or his designee, and shall include: (1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial; (2) A brief statement of the reason or reasons for the denial, including the $ 700.14 Classified information. In processing a request for access to a record containing information that is classified or classifiable under Executive Order 12356 or any other Executive order concerning the classification of records, the Office shall review the information to determine whether it warrants classification. Information that does not warrant classification shall not be withheld from a requester on the basis of 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1). The Office shall, upon receipt of any appeal involving classified or classifiable information, take appropriate action to ensure compliance with the provisions of Executive Order 12356. $ 700.15 Records in exempt systems of records. (a) Law-enforcement records exempted under subsections (1)(2) and (k)(2). Before denying a request by an individual for access to a law-enforcement record that has been exempted from access |