Bylaws

32 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart A
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

32 C.F.R. § 2003.1 Purpose (Article I).

The Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (hereafter “ISCAP” or “the Panel”) advises and assists the President in the discharge of his constitutional and discretionary authority to protect the national security of the United States.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.2 Authority (Article II).

ISCAP was established by, and receives its authority from, Executive Order 13526 “Classified National Security Information” (hereafter the “Order”), December 29, 2009, section 5.3(a)(1), and the Order's implementing directives. Section 5.3(c) of the Order directs ISCAP to issue bylaws, rules, and procedures and to publish them in the Federal Register.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.3 Functions (Article III).

In carrying out its purpose, the Panel: (a) Decides appeals by people who have filed classification challenges under section 1.8 of the Order; (b) Approves, denies, or amends agency exemptions from automatic declassification under section 3.3 of the Order; (c) Decides appeals by people or entities who have filed requests for mandatory declassification review under section 3.5 of the Order; and (d) Informs senior agency officials and the public, as appropriate, of final Panel decisions on appeals under sections 1.8 and 3.5 of the Order.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.4 Membership (Article IV).

(a) Member organizations and members. (1) The Departments of State, Defense, and Justice, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the National Security Advisor each have a member on the Panel. (2) Additionally, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may appoint a temporary representative, who meets the member criteria, to participate as a voting member in all Panel deliberations and associated support activities concerning classified information originated by the Central Intelligence Agency. (b) Alternate member. Each member organization also designates in writing an alternate, or alternates, to represent it on all occasions when the primary member is unable to participate. When serving for a primary member, an alternate assumes all the rights and responsibilities of that primary member, including voting. The alternate member must meet the member criteria. The member organization head, or the organization's deputy or senior agency official for the Order, makes the written designation of an alternate, addressed to the ISCAP Chair. (c) Selection criteria for member. (1) Members must be senior-level agency Federal officials or employees, full-time or permanent part-time, and must be designated to serve as a member on the Panel by the respective agency head. (2) Panel members must meet security access criteria in order to fulfill the Panel's functions. (d) Member vacancies. Vacancies among the primary members must be filled as quickly as possible. The Chair, working through the Executive Secretary, takes all appropriate measures to encourage the organization to fill the vacancy quickly. In the interim, the organization's designated alternate serves as its member. (e) Liaisons. Each member organization also designates in writing an individual or individuals (hereafter “liaisons”) to serve as liaison to the Executive Secretary in support of the primary member and alternate(s). The liaisons meet at the call of the Executive Secretary. The agency head, or the deputy or senior agency official for the Order, makes the written designation, addressed to the ISCAP Chair. (f) Chair. The President of the United States selects the Chair from among the primary members. (g) Vice Chair. The members may elect from among the primary members a Vice Chair who: (1) Chairs meetings that the Chair is unable to attend; and (2) Serves as Acting Chair during a vacancy in the Chair of the ISCAP. (h) Executive Secretary. The Director of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), National Archives and Records Administration, is the Executive Secretary of the Panel and oversees the Panel's support staff.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.5 Meetings (Article V).

(a) Purpose. The primary purpose of ISCAP meetings is to discuss and bring formal resolution to matters before the Panel and carry out the functions listed in § 2003.3, Article III, of these bylaws. (b) Frequency. The Panel meets at the call of the Chair, who schedules meetings as necessary for the Panel to fulfill its functions in a timely manner. The Chair also convenes the ISCAP when requested by a majority of its member organizations. (c) Quorum. Panel meetings may be held only when a quorum is present. For this purpose, a quorum requires the presence of at least five primary or alternate members. (d) Attendance. As determined by the Chair, attendance at Panel meetings is limited to only the people necessary for the Panel to fulfill its functions in a complete and timely manner. The members may arrange briefings by substantive experts from individual departments or agencies, after consultation with the Chair. (e) Agenda. The Chair establishes the agenda for all meetings. Any member or the Executive Secretary may submit potential items for the agenda. Acting through the Executive Secretary, the Chair distributes the agenda and supporting materials to the members as soon as possible before a scheduled meeting. (f) Minutes. The Executive Secretary and staff prepare each meeting's minutes, and distribute draft minutes to each member. The minutes include a record of the members present at the meeting and the result of each vote. At each Panel meeting, the Chair reads or references the previous meeting's draft minutes. At that time the minutes are corrected, as necessary, approved by the membership, and certified by the Chair. The approved minutes are maintained among the Panel's records.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.6 Voting (Article VI).

(a) Motions. When the Panel is required to make a decision or recommendation to resolve a matter before it, the Chair requests or accepts a motion for a vote. Any member, including the Chair, may make a motion for a vote. No second is required to bring any motion to a vote. A quorum must be present when a vote is taken. (b) Eligibility. Only the member, including the Chair, may vote on a motion before the ISCAP, with each represented member organization having one vote. (c) Voting procedures at meetings. Votes are ordinarily taken and tabulated by a show of hands. (d) Passing a motion. In response to a motion, members may vote affirmatively, negatively, or abstain from voting. A motion passes when it receives a majority of affirmative votes of the members voting. In circumstances in which members abstain from voting, a Panel decision to reverse an agency's classification decision requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members present. (e) Votes in a non-meeting context. The Chair may call for a vote of the membership outside the context of a formal ISCAP meeting. An alternate member may also participate in such a vote if the primary member cannot be present. The Executive Secretary records and retains such votes in a documentary form and immediately reports the results to the Chair and other primary or alternate members, including all notes of concurrence or dissent. If a member expresses dissent to taking a non-meeting vote, any member may request the Chair call a meeting of the members to discuss the issue under consideration and to hold an in-person vote.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.7 Support Staff (Article VII).

The staff of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), National Archives and Records Administration, provides program and administrative support for the Panel. The Executive Secretary supervises the staff in this function pursuant to the direction of the Chair and ISCAP. On an as-needed basis, the Panel may seek detailees from agencies to augment the ISOO staff in support of the ISCAP. All staff must meet security access criteria in order to fulfill the Panel's functions.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.8 Records (Article VIII).

(a) Integrity of ISCAP Records. The Executive Secretary maintains records that are produced by or presented to the ISCAP or its staff in the performance of the Panel's functions, consistent with applicable law. (b) Access requests or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for ISCAP records. The Panel refers any FOIA request or other access request for information that originated within an agency other than the ISCAP to that agency for processing. The Panel processes requests for information originated by the ISCAP in accordance with 44 U.S.C. sections 2201-2207 (Presidential Records Act). (c) Disposition. The Executive Secretary maintains Panel records in accordance with 44 U.S.C. sections 2201-2207 (Presidential Records Act).

32 C.F.R. § 2003.9 Reports to the President (Article IX).

ISOO includes pertinent information and data about the activities of the Panel in ISOO's reports to the President of the United States. The Panel also includes such information in any reports it may make to the President. The Chair, in coordination with the other members of the ISCAP and the Executive Secretary, determines what information and data to include in each report.

32 C.F.R. § 2003.10 Approval, amendment, and publication of bylaws, rules, and procedures (Article X).

Approval and amendment of Panel bylaws, rules, and procedures requires the affirmative vote of at least four members. The Executive Secretary submits approved bylaws, rules, procedures, and their amendments, for publication in the Federal Register.

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