(a) Any denial, in whole or in part, of a request for Department records under the FOIA may be administratively appealed to the Appeals Review Panel of the Department. This appeal right includes the right to appeal the determination that no records responsive to the request exist in Department files. Appeals must be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of the Department's denial letter and sent to: Appeals Officer, Appeals Review Panel, Office of Information Programs and Services, at the address set forth in §171.4, or faxed to (202) 261-8571. The time limit for a response to an appeal is 20 working days, which may be extended in unusual circumstances, as defined in §171.11(b). The time limit begins to run on the day the appeal is received by IPS. Appeals from denials of requests for expedited processing and for a fee reduction or waiver must be postmarked within 30 calendar days of the date of the Department's denial letter. See §§171.11(f)(4) (expedited processing appeals) and 171.16(e) (fee reduction/waiver appeals) of this subpart. See also §171.4 for address information.

(b) Requesters may decide to litigate a request that is in the appeal stage. Once a summons and complaint is received by the Department in connection with a particular request, the Department will administratively close any open appeal regarding such request.

(c) Requesters should submit an administrative appeal, to IPS at the above address, of any denial, in whole or in part, of a request for access to FSGB records under the FOIA. IPS will assign a tracking number to the appeal and forward it to the FSGB, which is an independent body, for adjudication.

(d) Decisions on appeals. A decision on an appeal must be made in writing. A decision that upholds the Department's determination will contain a statement that identifies the reasons for the affirmance, including any FOIA and Privacy Act exemptions applied. The decision will provide the requester with notification of the statutory right to file a lawsuit and will inform the requester of the mediation services offered by the Office of Government Information Services of the National Archives and Records Administration (OGIS) as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If the Department's decision is remanded or modified on appeal, the requester will be notified of that determination in writing. The Department will thereafter further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination and respond directly to the requester. When the Department of State engages in the mediation services offered by OGIS, it will work in good faith as a partner to the mediation process in an attempt to resolve the dispute. The Department reserves its right to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to enter into formal mediation offered by OGIS.