Archives Act

**Subject Matter**

This Act regulates the transfer of records from public bodies to archives, the archiving process, data protection within the archive sector, and the organization of archive services.

**a. Public Bodies**

¹ Public bodies are the authorities and offices of the Canton and the municipalities, other public institutions, as well as natural and legal persons under civil law, insofar as they are entrusted with public tasks.

² The Zürcher Kantonalbank is not subject to this law.

8 Files are written, electronic, and other records of public bodies, as well as supplementary documents, especially related indexes. b. Files

8 Archives are institutions for the permanent authentic c. Archives

transmission of the activities of public bodies for legal,

administrative, cultural, and scientific purposes.

**1. The State Archives are the central archives of the Canton and the archives of its legal predecessors.**

**organisation**

**a. State Archives**

**2. It advises public bodies and exercises professional supervision over the other archives.**

1. The courts, notariates, districts, municipalities, state-recognised churches, and independent institutions maintain their own archives.

2. The older archival parts of the courts, notariates, and districts are kept in the State Archives.

3. The Government Council may authorise other public bodies to maintain archives or oblige them to do so.

¹ The files are initially managed by public bodies.

File Management by Public Bodies

² The archives support public bodies in organizing their file management.⁸

8 ¹ Public bodies shall, as a rule, offer their records to the competent archive for transfer within ten years from the time they no longer require them.

Transfer of

Records to

Archives

² The archive shall select the records it takes over. In making its selection, it shall consider the importance of the records.

1.1.14-83

1

170.6

Archive Act

³ Public bodies shall dispose of records not taken over by the archives in accordance with the regulations applicable to them.

9

Aktenzugang

8 1 Archived files become freely accessible

a. 30 years after the file is closed, if they contain personal data,

b. 80 years after the file is closed, if they contain sensitive personal data.

2 Archives shall shorten the protection periods under para. 1 upon request, if the data subject at the time of the request

a. passed away at least 10 years ago,

b. was born at least 100 years ago and their date of death is not known to the archive.

3 Patient documentation becomes freely accessible 120 years after the file is closed, subject to Section 18a para. 2 lit. b of the Patients Act of 5 April 2004.

b. Access during the ongoing protection period

7 1 Archives shall permit access to archived records during the ongoing protection period if

a. the data subject requests access to their own personal data;

b. the data subject has consented to the disclosure;

c. the records are used for non-personal purposes, particularly research, planning, and statistics;

d. a public body requires the records to fulfil its statutory duties;

e. there are particularly protectable interests.

Archives Act

170.6

2 During the ongoing protection period, decisions regarding access to records that are subject to legally protected professional secrets shall be made by the authorities responsible for releasing professional secrets, in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to them, if the records contain special categories of personal data and the data subject’s consent is not available.

7 Archives refuse, restrict or postpone access to archived files if

a. particularly sensitive interests exist in individual cases,

b. their condition requires it, or

c. this has been agreed with the depositors of third-party archival material.

restrictions

7 The data subject has no right to demand the rectification or destruction of data. They can have the disputed or inaccurate nature of the data noted.

Every archive has a responsible management.

Management

1 Archives shall maintain the records carefully, professionally stored and reproducible; they shall secure them against deterioration and loss and keep comprehensive inventories thereof.

2 Loaning to private individuals is generally prohibited.

The archives may destroy files only in accordance with the destruction guidelines of the State Archives and only insofar as the public body does not request further storage.

Full-time staffed archives with regular opening hours maintain a reference library.

**8 Acquisition of Third-Party Archival Material**

Archives may acquire third-party archival material that originated outside their traditional scope, provided it is related to the purpose of the archive and is significant for this purpose.

**Implementing Regulations**

The Government Council and the cantonal courts shall issue implementing regulations, which they shall coordinate with each other as far as necessary.

8 Special Orders by the Government Council and Cantonal Courts

a. for important reasons, may shorten or extend the protection periods

according to § 11 for individual groups of records, grant a partial

right of inspection, or restrict the intended right of inspection;

1. 1. 14-83

3

170.6

Archives Act

Archives

Commission

Amendments

to existing

law

Entry into force

b. for important reasons, may exempt individual groups of records

from the duty to offer them or amend the deadlines;

c. may order the deposit of important but endangered or poorly indexed

records from other archives in the State Archives.

The Cantonal Government shall appoint an advisory Archive Commission, in which interested institutions and groups of persons are represented.

The following laws are hereby amended as follows: ...4

2 The Government Council determines the date of entry into force5.

4

1 LG 53, 267. Former ordinance number LG 432.11.

2 LG 170.4.

3 LG 813.13.

4 Text see LG 53, 269.

5 In force since January 1, 1999 (LG 54, 912).

6 Version according to the Act on Information and Data Protection of February 12,

2007 (LG 62, 121; OJ 2005, 1283). In force since October 1, 2008 (LG 63,

317).

7 Inserted by Act of July 8, 2013 (LG 68, 452; OJ 2012-09-28). In force since

January 15, 2014.

8 Version according to Act of July 8, 2013 (LG 68, 452; OJ 2012-09-28). In force since

January 15, 2014.

9 Repealed by Act of July 8, 2013 (LG 68, 452; OJ 2012-09-28). In force

since January 15, 2014.

Provisions of the Law on Information and Data Protection of February 12, 2007 (IDG)2. §§ 11, 11a and 11b remain reserved.

2 Archives may make indexing data and electronic versions of files accessible on the Internet if the relevant files are accessible to the public under para. 1 or under § 11 para. 1.

Protection Periods

a. Principle