§6744 — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

Keeps confidential business information given to the U.S. under this law or the Chemical Weapons Convention from being released under section 552(a) of title 5 (the Freedom of Information Act), except in a few cases. The U.S. may share the information with the Convention’s Technical Secretariat and other member countries as the Convention allows. Congress can get it if the chair or ranking minority member of the right committee asks in writing, but committee members and staff generally may not re-share it. Federal agencies may use the information for law enforcement or in legal proceedings, and must protect confidentiality as much as possible while still carrying out the case. The U.S. can also choose to release information if it decides doing so is in the national interest and can set the form of release. Unless national security or law enforcement reasons block it, the National Authority must tell the person who submitted the information and the person it’s about before releasing it. If that person objects, the agency will review the objections, hold a hearing, and must tell the person at least 10 days before the planned release whether it will still happen. A current or former U.S. officer or employee who knowingly and willfully gives out prohibited information to someone not authorized to get it can be fined under title 18, jailed for not more than 5 years, or both. The property of someone who breaks this rule can be seized under section 229C of title 18. The same rules also apply to employees of the Technical Secretariat.

Title 22, §6744

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), any confidential business information, as defined in section 6713(g) of this title, reported to, or otherwise acquired by, the United States Government under this chapter or under the Convention shall not be disclosed under section 552(a) of title 5.

(b)(1)Information shall be disclosed or otherwise provided to the Technical Secretariat or other states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in accordance with the Convention, in particular, the provisions of the Annex on the Protection of Confidential Information.

(2)Information shall be made available to any committee or subcommittee of Congress with appropriate jurisdiction upon the written request of the chairman or ranking minority member of such committee or subcommittee, except that no such committee or subcommittee, and no member and no staff member of such committee or subcommittee, shall disclose such information or material except as otherwise required or authorized by law.

(3)Information shall be disclosed to other Federal agencies for enforcement of this chapter or any other law, and shall be disclosed or otherwise provided when relevant in any proceeding under this chapter or any other law, except that disclosure or provision in such a proceeding shall be made in such manner as to preserve confidentiality to the extent practicable without impairing the proceeding.

(c)(1)The United States Government shall disclose any information reported to, or otherwise required by the United States Government under this chapter or the Convention, including categories of such information, that it determines is in the national interest to disclose and may specify the form in which such information is to be disclosed.

(2)(A)If any Department or agency of the United States Government proposes pursuant to paragraph (1) to publish or disclose or otherwise provide information exempt from disclosure under subsection (a), the United States National Authority shall, unless contrary to national security or law enforcement needs, provide notice of intent to disclose the information—

(i)to the person that submitted such information; and

(ii)in the case of information about a person received from another source, to the person to whom that information pertains.

(B)In the event that the person to which the information pertains objects to the disclosure, the agency shall promptly review the grounds for each objection of the person and shall afford the objecting person a hearing for the purpose of presenting the objections to the disclosure. Not later than 10 days before the scheduled or rescheduled date for the disclosure, the United States National Authority shall notify such person regarding whether such disclosure will occur notwithstanding the objections.

(d)Any officer or employee of the United States, and any former officer or employee of the United States, who by reason of such employment or official position has obtained possession of, or has access to, information the disclosure or other provision of which is prohibited by subsection (a), and who, knowing that disclosure or provision of such information is prohibited by such subsection, willfully discloses or otherwise provides the information in any manner to any person (including any person located outside the territory of the United States) not authorized to receive it, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.

(e)The property of any person who violates subsection (d) shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in section 229C 11 So in original. Probably should be section “229B”. of title 18.

(f)The provisions of this section shall also apply to employees of the Technical Secretariat.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a), (b)(3), and (c)(1), was in the original “this Act” and was translated as reading “this division”, meaning div. I of Pub. L. 105–277, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–856, known as the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. For complete classification of division I to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 6701 of this title and Tables.

§6744 Confidentiality of information