The Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) provides the public and users of the classification system with a forum for further review of classification decisions. For the first time, documents declassified by the ISCAP are available for public access on a new site accessible from the declassification portal: http://www.archives.gov/declassification/iscap/decision-table.html
The Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information,” (the Order) requires that the ISCAP inform senior agency officials and the public of final ISCAP decisions on mandatory declassification review appeals and classification challenges (see sections 1.8 and 3.5 of the Order). This function is important for two reasons. First, the documents decided upon by the ISCAP for classification challenges and mandatory declassification review appeals may be of historical interest to the public, not just to the appellants. Second, agencies must now consider the final decisions of the ISCAP when making their own declassification decisions (see section 3.1(i) of the Order). Distribution of electronic versions of declassified documents on a publicly available web site is the most efficient way for the ISCAP to fulfill this function.
Among the recent decisions posted by the ISCAP are portions of several President’s Daily Briefs from the late 1960s and intelligence reports regarding nuclear activity in Iran in the 1970s. These decisions represent the leading edge of declassification. The ISCAP decisions site is a work in progress, and will be further refined to better serve the needs of our users. Comments and suggestions regarding the ISCAP site may be sent to iscap@nara.gov.