State Department: Better Oversight and Controls Could Improve Timely Delivery of Legal Documents for Terrorism Victims
Fast Facts
Some victims of state-sponsored terrorism can sue the responsible government and may also be eligible for compensation from a special victims' fund. However, they often rely upon the State Department to deliver the necessary legal documents for a fee. State did this more than 200 times from 2007 through 2017. Those cases took:
5 months to complete on average
longer than 6 months about 29% of the time
longer than a year 7 times
Delays caused the State Department to waive $57,000 in fees it would have collected, and may have affected victims' compensation eligibility. We recommended ways to improve performance.
This is a photograph of the Department of State headquarters building.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of State (State) notifies sovereign defendants of court proceedings under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) in a four stage process that has taken on average about 5 months to complete. State headquarters has overall responsibility for delivering legal documents but U.S. embassies and foreign governments play key roles as well. From 2007 through 2017, State completed 229 requests for delivery of legal documents in an average of about 5 months, but about 28 percent of the requests took longer than 6 months and 7 requests took more than a year. Slow delivery could adversely affect a plaintiff's ability to obtain compensation from a special victims' fund that Congress set up in 2015.
State's Process for Delivering Legal Documents
State's guidance and federal internal control standards require controls such as accurate and complete record-keeping, continuous monitoring, and analysis of data; however, GAO found that State lacks several key controls to manage its delivery of legal documents. First, State's records are incomplete. For example, for 82 percent of the cases, State had no information about when it received court requests. Second, State did not monitor the progress of cases, resulting in slow service. This slow service led State to waive fees of about $57,000 because checks had expired. Third, State did not analyze case data to identify factors contributing to slow service, or establish timeframes for completing service. As a result, managers lack a sound basis for making decisions on how to improve timeliness. In June 2018, State took some actions based on GAO's review to improve its performance, including preparing step-by-step guidance and developing a new record-keeping system, but further actions could fill the gaps that have impaired program performance.
Why GAO Did This Study
While foreign states generally cannot be sued in a U.S. court, under FSIA, parties can sue governments for certain crimes such as injury or death from an act of terrorism, if certain factors are present. State is required by statute to serve notice of such suits or default judgments when other means for effecting service are not available, and charges plaintiffs a fee of $2,275 to complete this task. Plaintiffs in such cases may also qualify for compensation from a fund that Congress established called the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
In this report, GAO examines (1) how State completes this service and the length of time it takes to complete requests, and (2) whether State has implemented key controls for executing service requests promptly. GAO reviewed State regulations, guidance, case files, and data from 2007 through 2017; and interviewed State officials in Washington, D.C., the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland, which handle the vast majority of cases. GAO assessed State's controls against federal internal control standards.
Recommendations
GAO is making five recommendations to State, including that it update its record-keeping guidance to ensure its records are accurate and complete, monitor the progress of requests, periodically analyze data to identify causes of slow service and take corrective actions, and establish timeframes for completing service. State concurred with all five of GAO's recommendations and identified actions it plans to take to address them.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs requires Consular Affairs' Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services/Office of Legal Affairs (OCS/L) to update guidance to specify the data to be recorded in the service request case tracker. The required data should include key dates for all four stages of the process for completing service, such as the date the court sent the request to OCS/L. (Recommendation 1) |
Closed – Implemented
GAO has closed this recommendation as implemented. In response to our work and to GAO's recommendation, as of November 2018 OSC/L revised its handbook for processing FSIA service requests to include a new requirement for additional dates to be entered into its case tracker. The data that OCS/L requires to be entered into its case tracker includes the date when OCS/L first receives a service request package. The November 2018 version of the handbook also contains new requirements to enter dates for clearances within the Department and receipt of the service request at the embassy. A 2019 mid-year analysis provided by OSC/L shows that since the issuance of our report in December 2018, OCS/L is capturing data showing the amount of time spent during the initial document review and clearance stage of the process, as well as other stages of the process, which may be leading to a shorter amount of time spent processing service requests overall. In December 2018, we found that from 2007 through 2017 it took OCS/L on average about 158 days-about 5 months-to complete service of process. We also found that 28 percent of the cases took 180 days or more to complete. By comparison, State said it cleared a significant number of open cases as of Dec. 31, 2018 and the 2019 mid-year data showed that it took OCS/L an average of about 97 days-a little over 3 months-to complete the delivery of legal documents and that there were no cases that took more than 180 days to complete. State's implementation of this recommendation should enable State to continue delivering legal documents under the FSIA in a more timely and organized manner.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs requires OCS/L to update its record-keeping guidance for service requests to include a standard list of documents to maintain in service request case files. (Recommendation 2) |
Closed – Implemented
GAO has closed this recommendation as implemented. In response to GAO's recommendation, as of July 2019 Consular Affairs' Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services/Office of Legal Affairs (OSC/L) had included in its handbook for processing Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act service of process cases a standard list of documents to maintain in service request case files. Documents for inclusion in case files include: 1. Request letter from the clerk or plaintiff's counsel; 2. Check(s) 3. Documents served; 4. Transmittal memo; 5. Proof letter (unsigned and signed); and 6. Copy of any diplomatic notes and certifications. The case files may also include letters between State and the plaintiff's attorney, memos from post returning the materials, fee receipts and other case-related correspondence. Including a standard list of documents to maintain in its service of process request case files will help ensure that State has complete and accurate information on service requests, which should enable State to better monitor the progress of service requests.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs requires OCS/L to monitor the status of service requests. (Recommendation 3) |
Closed – Implemented
GAO has closed this recommendation as implemented. In response to GAO's recommendation, in December 2019, State updated its Foreign Assistance Manual to require State's Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services/Office of Legal Affairs (OCS/L) to monitor the progress of service requests. OCS/L also updated its handbook for processing FSIA service of process cases to require the recording of key dates in the process and has a tracker to facilitate the recording and updating of key milestone information. A 2019 mid-year report provided by OSC/L shows that OCS/L has monitored the delivery of legal documents to foreign governments under the FSIA . State's continued implementation of this recommendation should enable State to continue delivering legal documents under the FSIA in a more timely manner
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs requires OCS/L to periodically analyze its data on service requests to identify the causes of any delays in State's completion of service and take corrective actions as appropriate. (Recommendation 4) |
Closed – Implemented
GAO has closed this recommendation as implemented. In response to GAO's recommendation, in December 2019, State updated its Foreign Assistance Manual to require the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services/Office of Legal Affairs (OCS/L) to analyze its data. Since the issuance of our report, OCS/L has periodically analyzed its data to determine the amount of time taken to complete various steps required to execute service of process requests. A 2019 mid-year analysis provided by OSC/L shows that, since the issuance of our report in December 2018, the amount of time needed to complete the delivery of legal documents to foreign governments under the FSIA has been reduced. In December 2018, we found that from 2007 through 2017 it took OCS/L on average about 158 days-about 5 months-to complete service of process. We also found that 28 percent of the cases took 180 days or more to complete. By comparison, State said it cleared a significant number of open cases as of Dec. 31, 2018 and the 2019 mid-year data showed that it took OCS/L an average of about 97 days-a little over 3 months-to complete the delivery of legal documents and that there were no cases that took more than 180 days to complete. State's continued implementation of this recommendation should enable State to continue delivering legal documents under the FSIA in a more timely manner.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs establishes performance standards for completing service, including timeframes for completing the various processes at State and at U.S. embassies. (Recommendation 5) |
Closed – Implemented
GAO has closed this recommendation as implemented. In response to our work and GAO's recommendation, as of November 2018 the Bureau of Consular Affairs' Directorate of Overseas Citizen Services/Office of Legal Affairs (OSC/L) had included in its handbook for processing Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) service requests specific expected timeframes for various discrete steps and tasks in providing FSIA service of process. For example, the handbook specifies that within two business days of having completed the intake of a service of request package, OCS/L staff will ascertain whether the package contains any errors, omissions or other issues that must be resolved prior to transmission. The handbook also specifies that upon receipt of a transmission memo from the OCS/L case coordinator, the OCS/L reviewing attorney will within two business days make edits using track changes and insert comments as appropriate. Finally, the manual now contains timeframes for contacting the plaintiff's attorney. A 2019 mid-year analysis provided by OSC/L shows that, since the issuance of our report in December 2018, the amount of time needed to complete the delivery of legal documents to foreign governments under the FSIA has been reduced. In December 2018, we found that from 2007 through 2017 it took OCS/L on average about 158 days-about 5 months-to complete service of process. We also found that 28 percent of the cases took 180 days or more to complete. By comparison, State said it cleared a significant number of open cases as of Dec. 31, 2018 and the 2019 mid-year data showed that it took OCS/L an average of about 97 days-a little over 3 months-to complete the delivery of legal documents and that there were no cases that took more than 180 days to complete. State's development of performance timeframes should enable State to continue delivering legal documents under the FSIA in a more timely manner.
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