(a) A DPRC panel shall consider an application for review in a manner that is timely, impartial, and consistent with the Executive order of October 7, 2022 and this part in order to determine whether a covered violation occurred and, if so, to determine any appropriate remediation.

Terms Used In 28 CFR 201.9

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.

(b) A DPRC panel shall conduct its review based on the record of the ODNI CLPO’s review and any information or submissions provided by the complainant, the Special Advocate, or an element of the Intelligence Community. A DPRC panel may request that the ODNI CLPO supplement the record with specific explanatory or clarifying information and that the ODNI CLPO make additional factual findings where necessary to enable the DPRC panel to conduct its review.

(c) If the DPRC panel finds no evidence in the record indicating that signals intelligence activities occurred involving personal information of or about the complainant, the DPRC panel shall render a decision to that effect.

(d) In all other cases, the DPRC panel shall determine:

(1) Whether, under the applicable law as set forth in the definition of a covered violation in the Executive order of October 7, 2022, the ODNI CLPO’s determination whether a covered violation occurred was legally correct and supported by substantial evidence; and

(2) Whether, in the event of a covered violation, the ODNI CLPO’s determination as to the appropriate remediation was consistent with the Executive order of October 7, 2022.

(e) If a DPRC panel decides that a determination by the ODNI CLPO does not meet the standard set out in paragraph (d) of this section, the DPRC panel shall issue its own determination.

(f) Prior to determining an appropriate remediation under paragraph (e) of this section, a DPRC panel shall seek through the ODNI CLPO the views of affected elements of the Intelligence Community regarding the appropriate remediation, including an assessment of impacts on the operations of the Intelligence Community and the national security of the United States. The panel shall take due account of these views as well as customary ways of addressing a violation of the type identified.

(g) A DPRC panel shall make its decision by majority vote. Each DPRC panel shall issue a written decision setting out its determinations and the specification of any appropriate remediation. The decision of each DPRC panel shall be final and binding with respect to the application for review before it and shall be controlling only as to that application for review.

(h) After the issuance of a written decision under paragraph (g) of this section, OPCL shall forward the decision to the ODNI CLPO. If the complainant submitted an application for review in the case, OPCL shall notify the complainant through the appropriate public authority in a qualifying state, without confirming or denying whether the complainant was subject to signals intelligence activities, that:

(1) The DPRC completed its review;

(2) The review either did not identify any covered violations or the Data Protection Review Court issued a determination requiring appropriate remediation; and

(3) The notification to the complainant constitutes the final agency action in the matter.

(i) A DPRC panel shall provide a classified report on information indicating a violation of any authority subject to the oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, who shall report violations to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in accordance with its rules of procedure.

(j) For each application for review, OPCL shall maintain a record of the information reviewed by the DPRC panel and the decision of the DPRC panel, which records shall be made available for consideration as non-binding precedent to future DPRC panels considering applications for review.