286.22—General provisions.
(a) Public information.
(1)
Since the policy of the Department of Defense is to make the maximum amount of information available to the public consistent with its other responsibilities, written requests for a DoD record made under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) of the FOIA may be denied only when:
(i)
Disclosure would result in a foreseeable harm to an interest protected by a FOIA exemption, and the record is subject to one or more of the exemptions of FOIA.
(ii)
The record has not been described well enough to enable the DoD Component to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort by an employee familiar with the files.
(iii)
The requester has failed to comply with the procedural requirements, including the written agreement to pay or payment of any required fee imposed by the instructions of the DoD Component concerned. When personally identifiable information in a record is requested by the subject of the record or the subject's attorney, notarization of the request, or a statement certifying under the penalty of perjury that their identity is true and correct may be required. Additionally, written consent of the subject of the record is required for disclosure from a Privacy Act System of records, even to the subject's attorney.
(2)
Individuals seeking DoD information should address their FOIA requests to one of the addresses listed in appendix B of this part.
(b) Requests from private parties.
The provisions of the FOIA are reserved for persons with private interest as opposed to U.S. Federal Agencies seeking official information. Requests from private persons will be made in writing, and should clearly show all other addressees within the Federal Government to which the request was also sent. This procedure will reduce processing time requirements, and ensure better inter- and intra-agency coordination. However, if the requester does not show all other addressees to which the request was also sent, DoD Components shall still process the request. DoD Components should encourage requesters to send requests by mail, facsimile, or by electronic means. Disclosure of records to individuals under the FOIA is considered public release of information, except as provided for in § 286.4(f) and § 286.12.
(c) Requests from government officials.
Requests from officials of State or local Governments for DoD Component records shall be considered the same as any other requester. Requests from members of Congress not seeking records on behalf of a Congressional Committee, Subcommittee, either House sitting as a whole, or made on behalf of their constituents shall be considered the same as any other requester (see also § 286.4(f) and paragraph (d) of this section). Requests from officials of foreign governments shall be considered the same as any other requester. Requests from officials of foreign governments that do not invoke the FOIA shall be referred to appropriate foreign disclosure channels and the requester so notified.
(d) Privileged release outside of the FOIA to U.S. Government officials.
(1)
Records exempt from release to the public under the FOIA may be disclosed in accordance with DoD Component regulations to agencies of the Federal Government, whether legislative, executive, or administrative, as follows:
(i)
In response to a request of a Committee or Subcommittee of Congress, or to either House sitting as a whole in accordance with DoD Directive 5400.4.
(ii)
To other Federal Agencies, both executive and administrative, as determined by the head of a DoD Component or designee.
(iii)
In response to an order of a Federal court, DoD Components shall release information along with a description of the restrictions on its release to the public.
(2)
DoD Components shall inform officials receiving records under the provisions of this paragraph that those records are exempt from public release under the FOIA. DoD Components also shall advise officials of any special handling instructions. Classified information is subject to the provisions of DoD 5200.1-R, and information contained in Privacy Act systems of records is subject to DoD 5400.11-R.
(e) Consultation with affected DoD component.
(1)
When a DoD Component receives a FOIA request for a record in which an affected DoD organization (including a Combatant Command) has a clear and substantial interest in the subject matter, consultation with that affected DoD organization is required. As an example, where a DoD Component receives a request for records related to DoD operations in a foreign country, the cognizant Combatant Command for the area involved in the request shall be consulted before a release is made. Consultations may be telephonic, electronic, or in hard copy.
(2)
The affected DoD Component shall review the circumstances of the request for host-nation relations, and provide, where appropriate, FOIA processing assistance to the responding DoD Component regarding release of information. Responding DoD Components shall provide copies of responsive records to the affected DoD Component when requested by the affected DoD Component. The affected DoD Component shall receive a courtesy copy of all releases in such circumstances.
(3)
Nothing in paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section shall impede the processing of the FOIA request initially received by a DoD Component.