1014 PUBLIC LAWS-CH. 957-AUG. 13 , 1946 [60 STAT. TO WHOM RECORDS SHALL BE AVAILABLE SEC. 612. The correspondence and records of the Department relat- ing to the officers and employees of the Service, including efficiency records as defined in section 601 (1) but not including records per- taining to the receipt, disbursement, and accounting for public funds, shall be confidential and subject to inspection only by the President, the Secretary, the Under Secretary, the Counselor of the Department, the legislative and appropriations committees of the Congress charged with considering legislation and appropriations for the Service or representatives duly authorized by such committees, the members of the Board of the Foreign Service, the Director General, and such officers and employees of the Government as may be assigned by the Secretary to work on such records. Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe and in the interest of efficient personnel administration, the whole or any portion of an efficiency record shall, upon written request, be divulged to the officer or employee to whom such record relates. PART C-PROMOTION OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND FOREIGN SERVICE RESERVE OFFICERS PROMOTION OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS BY SELECTION SEC. 621. All promotions of Foreign Service officers shall be made by the President, in accordance with such regulations as he may pre- scribe, by appointment to a higher class, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Promotion shall be by selection on the basis of merit. ELIGIBLITY SEC. 622. The Secretary shall, by regulation, determine the minimum period Foreign Service officers must serve in each class and a standard for performance for each class which they must meet in order to Exemption. become eligible for promotion to a higher class. In the event the Director General shall certify to the Board of the Foreign Service that a Foreign Service officer has rendered extraordinarily meritorious service, the Board of the Foreign Service may recommend to the Secretary that such officer shall not be required to serve such minimum period in class as a prerequisite to promotion, and the Secretary may exempt such officer from such requirement. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROMOTION Establishment or SEC. 623. The Secretary is authorized to establish, with the advice of the Board of the Foreign Service, selection boards to evaluate the performance of Foreign Service officers, and upon the basis of their findings the Secretary shall make recommendations to the President for the promotion of Foreign Service officers. No person assigned to serve on any such board shall serve in such capacity for any two con- secutive years. PROMOTION OF FOREIGN SERVICE RESERVE OFFICERS SEC. 624. Any Reserve officer may receive promotions from one class to a next higher class in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. IN-CLASS PROMOTIONS OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND RESERVE OFFICERS SEC. 625. Any Foreign Service officer or any Reserve officer, whose services meet the standards required for the efficient conduct of the work of the Foreign Service and who shall have been in a given class
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