(a) General requirements for making an appeal. A requester may appeal any adverse determination to the EXIM's Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law and Board Support. Requesters can submit appeals by mail or via email at [email protected] in accordance with the following requirements: Appeals must be made in writing and contain the appellant's contact information, such as return address, email, or telephone number. To be timely it must be postmarked, or in the case of electronic submissions, transmitted within 90 calendar days after the date of the final response. The appeal should clearly identify the EXIM determination that is being appealed and the assigned request number. To facilitate handling, the requester should mark both appeal letter and envelope, or subject line of the electronic transmission, “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”

(b) Adjudication of appeals. (1) The Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law and Board Support or designee will act on behalf of EXIM's Chief FOIA officer on all appeals under this section.

(2) An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes a matter of litigation.

(3) On receipt of any appeal involving classified information, EXIM must take appropriate action to ensure compliance with applicable classification laws.

(c) Decisions on appeals. A decision that upholds an agency's determination, in whole or in part, must contain a statement that identifies the reasons for the affirmance, including any FOIA exemptions applied. The decision must 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 (OGIS) of National Archives and Records Administration as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If EXIM's initial determination is remanded or modified on appeal, EXIM will notify the requester of that determination in writing. EXIM will then further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination and will respond directly to the requester.

(d) Engaging in dispute resolution services provided by OGIS. Mediation is a voluntary process. If EXIM agrees to participate in the mediation services provided by OGIS, it will actively engage as a partner to the process in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

(e) When appeal is required. Before seeking review by a court of an adverse determination, a requester generally must submit a timely administrative appeal.