§1211 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

§1211 Establishment

Title 5 › Part PART II— - CIVIL SERVICE FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD, OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL, AND EMPLOYEE RIGHT OF ACTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL › § 1211

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Office of Special Counsel led by the Special Counsel. The office must have an official seal courts will accept. Its main office is in the District of Columbia and it can have field offices in other places. The President, with the Senate’s approval, appoints the Special Counsel for a 5-year term. The Special Counsel may stay on until a successor qualifies, but not more than one extra year. The person must be an attorney with appropriate experience. Someone appointed to fill a vacancy serves the rest of that term. The President can remove the Special Counsel only for poor performance, neglect of duty, or wrongdoing, and the Special Counsel may not hold another federal job unless law or the President allows it.

Title 5, §1211

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is established the Office of Special Counsel, which shall be headed by the Special Counsel. The Office shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed. The Office shall have its principal office in the District of Columbia and shall have field offices in other appropriate locations.

(b)The Special Counsel shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of 5 years. The Special Counsel may continue to serve beyond the expiration of the term until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that the Special Counsel may not continue to serve for more than one year after the date on which the term of the Special Counsel would otherwise expire under this subsection. The Special Counsel shall be an attorney who, by demonstrated ability, background, training, or experience, is especially qualified to carry out the functions of the position. A Special Counsel appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the end of a term of office of the Special Counsel’s predecessor serves for the remainder of the term. The Special Counsel may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The Special Counsel may not hold another office or position in the Government of the United States, except as otherwise provided by law or at the direction of the President.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–424 inserted after first sentence “The Special Counsel may continue to serve beyond the expiration of the term until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that the Special Counsel may not continue to serve for more than one year after the date on which the term of the Special Counsel would otherwise expire under this subsection.” 1989—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–12, § 3(a)(6), (12), renumbered section 1204 of this title as subsec. (b) of this section, substituted “Special Counsel shall be appointed by the President” for “Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board shall be appointed by the President from attorneys”, substituted “The Special Counsel shall be an attorney who, by demonstrated ability, background, training, or experience, is especially qualified to carry out the functions of the position. A Special Counsel appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the end of a term of office of the Special Counsel’s predecessor serves for the remainder of the term.” for “A Special Counsel appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the end of a term of office of his predecessor serves for the remainder of the term.”, and inserted at end “The Special Counsel may not hold another office or position in the Government of the United States, except as otherwise provided by law or at the direction of the President.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Subchapter effective 90 days following Apr. 10, 1989, see section 11 of Pub. L. 101–12, set out as a note under section 1201 of this title. Allegations of Wrongdoing Against Special Counsel or Deputy Special Counsel Pub. L. 110–409, § 7(b), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4312, which provided for review by the Integrity Committee of allegations of wrongdoing against the Special Counsel or the Deputy Special Counsel, was repealed by Pub. L. 114–317, § 7(a)(1), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1605. See section 424(d)(12) of this title. Transfer of Funds Pub. L. 101–12, § 8(c), Apr. 10, 1989, 103 Stat. 34, provided that: “The personnel, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds employed, held, used, arising from, available or to be made available to the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board are, subject to section 1531 of title 31, United States Code, transferred to the Special Counsel referred to in section 1211 of title 5, United States Code (as added by section 3(a) of this Act), for appropriate allocation.”