82 FR 7860 - Judicial Redress Act of 2015; Attorney General Designations

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 13 (January 23, 2017)

In accordance with the Judicial Redress Act of 2015, relating to the extension of certain Privacy Act remedies to citizens of designated countries, notice is given that the Attorney General has designated 26 countries and 1 regional economic integration organization, as set forth below, as ``covered countries.'' Notice is also given that the United States anticipates designating additional EU member countries as soon as practicable. In addition, notice is given that the Attorney General has designated four Federal agencies and nine components of other Federal agencies, as set forth below, as ``designated Federal agencies or components.''

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7860-7861]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01381]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[Attorney General Order No. 3824-2017]


Judicial Redress Act of 2015; Attorney General Designations

AGENCY: Office of the Attorney General; United States Department of 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of designation by the Attorney General of ``covered 
countries'' and ``designated Federal agencies or components''.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Judicial Redress Act of 2015, relating 
to the extension of certain Privacy Act remedies to citizens of 
designated countries, notice is given that the Attorney General has 
designated 26 countries and 1 regional economic integration 
organization, as set forth below, as ``covered countries.'' Notice is 
also given that the United States anticipates designating additional EU 
member countries as soon as practicable. In addition, notice is given 
that the Attorney General has designated four Federal agencies and nine 
components of other Federal agencies, as set forth below, as 
``designated Federal agencies or components.''

DATES: The designations herein are effective on February 1, 2017, the 
date of entry into force of the U.S.-EU Data Protection and Privacy 
Agreement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Harris, Acting Deputy 
Director, Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, United 
States Department of Justice, 1301 New York Avenue, Suite 900, 
Washington, DC 20005, 202-514-0080.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 2, 2016, the European Union (the 
``EU'') undertook the final steps necessary under EU law to approve an 
executive agreement between the United States (the ``U.S.'') and the EU 
(the ``Parties'') relating to privacy protections for personal 
information transferred between the U.S., the EU, and the EU Member 
States for the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of 
criminal offenses. The Agreement, commonly known in the United States 
as the Data Protection and Privacy Agreement (the ``DPPA''), 
establishes a set of protections that the Parties are to apply to 
personal information exchanged for the purpose of preventing, 
detecting, investigating, or prosecuting criminal offenses. Article 19 
of the DPPA establishes an obligation for the Parties to provide, in 
their domestic law, specific judicial redress rights to each other's 
citizens. The Judicial Redress Act, Public Law 114-126, 130 Stat. 282 
(5 U.S.C. 552a note), is implementing legislation for Article 19.

Determinations and Designations Pursuant to Section 2(d)(1)

    For purposes of implementing section 2(d)(1) of the Judicial 
Redress Act:
    (1) The Attorney General has determined that the countries and the 
regional economic integration organization listed below have entered 
into an agreement with the United States that provides for appropriate 
privacy protections for information shared for the purpose of 
preventing, investigating, detecting, or prosecuting criminal offenses; 
to wit, the DPPA;
    (2) The Attorney General has determined that the country or 
regional economic integration organization, or member country of such 
organization, permits the transfer of personal data for commercial 
purposes between the territory of that country or regional economic 
organization and the territory of the United States, through an 
agreement with the United States or otherwise;
    (3) The Attorney General has certified that the policies regarding 
the transfer of personal data for commercial purposes and related 
actions of the countries and the regional economic integration 
organization, or member countries of such organization, listed below, 
do not materially impede the national security interests of the United 
States; and
    (4) The Attorney General has obtained the concurrence of the 
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to designate the following regional economic 
integration organization and countries as a ``covered country'':
    (a) Designation as a ``covered country.'' The following regional 
economic integration organization and countries have each been 
designated as a ``covered country,'' effective on February 1, 2017, the 
date of the DPPA's entry into force:
    1. European Union;
    2. Austria;
    3. Belgium;
    4. Bulgaria;
    5. Croatia;
    6. Republic of Cyprus;
    7. Czech Republic;
    8. Estonia;
    9. Finland;
    10. France;
    11. Germany;
    12. Greece;
    13. Hungary;
    14. Ireland;
    15. Italy;
    16. Latvia;
    17. Lithuania;
    18. Luxembourg;
    19. Malta;
    20. Netherlands;
    21. Poland;
    22. Portugal;
    23. Romania;
    24. Slovakia;
    25. Slovenia;
    26. Spain; and
    27. Sweden.
    (b) Anticipated designation as a ``covered country'' as soon as 
practicable. With respect to three

[[Page 7861]]

countries, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, Article 27 of the 
DPPA excludes them from coverage unless the European Commission 
notifies the United States that Denmark, Ireland, or the United Kingdom 
has decided that the DPPA applies to its State. The EU has notified the 
United States that Ireland has agreed that the DPPA applies to it, and 
Ireland has been designated as a ``covered country'' above. With 
respect to Denmark and the United Kingdom, the Department of Justice 
intends to move promptly to designate each of those countries as a 
``covered country'' on receiving notice, in accordance with the 
provisions of Article 27 of the DPPA, that the country has decided that 
the DPPA applies to it.

Determinations and Designations Pursuant to Section 2(e)(1)

    For purposes of implementing section 2(e) of the Judicial Redress 
Act:
    (1) The Attorney General has determined that information exchanged 
by the Federal agencies or components listed below with the above-
designated countries and regional economic integration organization is 
within the scope of the DPPA;
    (2) The Attorney General has obtained the concurrence of the head 
of the relevant agency, or of the head of the agency to which the 
component belongs, as needed, for the following ``designated Federal 
agency or component'' designations:
    (a) Designation of Federal agencies as a ``designated Federal 
agency or component.'' The following Federal agencies, and all of their 
respective components, have each been designated as a ``designated 
Federal agency or component,'' effective on February 1, 2017, the date 
of the DPPA's entry into force:
    1. United States Department of Justice;
    2. United States Department of Homeland Security;
    3. United States Securities and Exchange Commission; and
    4. United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
    (b) Designation of individual components of Federal agencies as a 
``designated Federal agency or component.'' The following components of 
a Federal agency have each been designated as a ``designated Federal 
agency or component,'' effective on February 1, 2017, the date of the 
DPPA's entry into force:
    1. Bureau of Diplomatic Security, United States Department of 
State;
    2. Office of the Inspector General, United States Department of 
State;
    3. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, United States 
Department of the Treasury;
    4. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Department of the 
Treasury;
    5. Internal Revenue Service, Division of Criminal Investigation, 
Department of the Treasury;
    6. Office of Foreign Assets Control, United States Department of 
the Treasury;
    7. Office of the Inspector General, United States Department of the 
Treasury;
    8. Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 
United States Department of the Treasury; and
    9. Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, 
United States Department of the Treasury.

Scope of EU Designation

    Designation of the European Union as a ``covered country'' is 
intended to ensure that records transferred by European Union 
institutional components, such as Europol, Eurojust, and OLAF (the 
European Antifraud Office), are treated as ``covered records'' pursuant 
to section 2(h)(4) of the Judicial Redress Act. Designation of the 
European Union as a ``covered country'' is not intended to, and does 
not, constitute designation of its member states as covered countries.

Non-Retroactivity

    It is intended that no cause of action shall be afforded by the 
Judicial Redress Act retroactively with respect to any record 
transferred prior to the date of the DPPA's entry into force on 
February 1, 2017.

Non-Reviewable Determination

    In accordance with section 2(f) of the Judicial Redress Act, the 
determinations by the Attorney General described in this notice shall 
not be subject to judicial or administrative review.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Loretta E. Lynch,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 2017-01381 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-14-P