§ 4.8 Mediation services and appeal of denial.

(a) Any person who has been notified pursuant to § 4.7(h) of this part that his/her request for inspection of a record or for a copy has been denied, or who has received no response within twenty working days (or within such extended period as is permitted under § 4.7(c) of this part) after the request has been received by the Commission, may appeal the adverse determination or the failure to respond by requesting the Commission to direct that the record be made available. (b) The appeal request shall be in writing, shall clearly and prominently state on the envelope or subject line, or in a similarly prominent location, “FOIA Appeal”, and shall identify the record in the form in which it was originally requested. (c) The appeal request should be addressed to the Chief FOIA Officer and filed pursuant to 11 CFR 100.19(g). (d) The requestor may state facts and cite legal or other authorities as he/she deems appropriate in support of the appeal request. (e) For good cause shown, the Commission may disclose a record which is subject to one of the exemptions listed in § 4.5 of this part. (f) The Commission will make a determination with respect to any appeal within twenty days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) after receipt of the appeal (or within such extended period as is permitted under § 4.7(c) of this part). If on appeal, the denial of the request for a record or a copy is in whole or in part upheld, the Commission shall advise the requestor of the denial and shall notify him/her of the provisions for judicial review of that determination as set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4). (g) Because of the risk of misunderstanding inherent in oral communications, the Commission will not entertain any appeal from an alleged denial or failure to comply with an oral request. Any person who has orally requested a copy of a record that he/she believes to have been improperly denied should resubmit the request in writing as set forth in § 4.7. (h) The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers non-compulsory, non-binding mediation services to help resolve FOIA disputes as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. A requester may contact OGIS at: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001; email: ogis@nara.gov; telephone 202-741-5770; fax: 202-741-5769; online: https://www.archives.gov/ogis.