Regulation of the Judicial Directorate on the Inspection of Files and Archiving - Scope

1. This regulation governs

a) the inspection of court records of concluded proceedings until their delivery to the State Archive and

b) the archiving of all records of the courts pursuant to § 40 GOG, the judicial administration, the supervisory commission, the lawyers' commission, and the general secretariat until their delivery to the State Archive.

1. Court Records are procedural records under the jurisdiction of the courts as per § 40 GOG and contain information available on any information carrier that has been received, consulted, or created by the courts in a legal proceeding.

2. Administrative Records are records under the jurisdiction of the courts as per § 40 GOG, the judicial administration, the supervisory commission, the bar commission, and the general secretariat, containing information available on any information carrier that has been received, consulted, or created in the context of administrative activities.

3. Administrative activities particularly include personnel, financial, organizational, administrative, and supervisory matters.

1. Applications for access to court files from concluded proceedings of the lower judicial authorities are decided by the presidency of the adjudicative body.

2. Applications for access to court files from concluded proceedings of the Higher Court are decided, after consultation with the presidency of the adjudicative body, by the judicial administration (§ 39 para. 3 IDAG).

3. In matters of child and adult protection law, the respective presidency of the family court is also responsible for applications for access to files stored with the former guardianship authorities (the municipalities).

4. The competent municipal authorities are authorized to facilitate simplified access to files stored with the municipalities' former guardianship authorities within the framework of the application of the Federal Act on the Review of Protective Care Measures and Out-of-Home Placements prior to 1981 (AFZFG, particularly Art. 11). In cases of doubt, they may reserve the approval of the relevant president of the family court.

1. Access to decisions and judgments of concluded proceedings is granted upon request, provided that there are no overriding private or public interests opposing the right of access.

2. The release of decisions and judgments is generally made in anonymized form.

1. The protection periods for the remaining files apply correspondingly in accordance with § 46 paragraphs 1 and 2 IDAG.

2. Administrative bodies have the right to access when it is necessary for them to fulfill their duties or it is in the interest of the affected parties.

3. The decisive factor for calculating the protection period is the date on which the proceedings become legally binding.

4. The protection period can be extended for a limited period in individual cases, insofar as there is a prevailing public or private interest against inspection by third parties.

1. Examination during the protection period may be granted upon written request, particularly if

a) the consent of the affected parties is present,

b) the documents were already accessible to the public, subject to new reasons against disclosure.

2. The parties to the proceedings are granted access to documents before the expiration of the protection period without the need to assert a legitimate interest, provided that there are no overriding private or public interests against the right of access.

3. Third parties are granted access to documents before the expiration of the protection period, provided they demonstrate a legitimate interest and there are no overriding private or public interests against the right of access.

1. The right to inspect files includes the right to view the files or information carriers at the court's location or to make them accessible, as well as to make notes or take photographs of them.

2. To the extent that inspection is granted, there is the right to have photocopies of the files or duplicates of the information carriers made at the office for a fee.

3. To protect personal privacy and specific secrets, the inspection may be limited to certain parts of the files. The accessible files may be anonymized.

4. Data carriers with interviews of children as victims of crimes and pornographic depictions of such children, as well as photo prints made from such data carriers or depictions, may only be viewed by the parties and their representatives (including attorneys) in the court premises using the playback devices provided there and may neither be copied nor removed from the court premises.

1. For services related to the right of access to files, a fee may be charged in accordance with the applicable provisions.

1. Legal protection is governed by § 39 section 3 of the IDAG and § 38 section 1 letter f of the GOG.

1. The provisions of the IDAG apply to the inspection of administrative records of concluded transactions.

1. The archive is intended to ensure, after the conclusive resolution of the procedure or the completion of the transaction, the continued use of the records by parties involved and official agencies as well as third parties, and to guarantee a permanent documentary transfer to the state archive.

1. All records shall be retained unless they are returned to the depositors before archiving.

1. The responsible entity for each respective archive is the authority where the files are located after the legal termination of the proceedings or upon conclusion of the matter.

2. The respective authority shall regulate the responsibilities in its office regulations.

1. The archived files shall be stored in lockable and suitable rooms for archiving.

2. The responsible authority shall prepare an archive plan for each archive location, which is periodically updated.

1. The archive records shall be organized by each authority according to the type of procedure and the date of archiving. The connection between archive and procedure numbers shall be ensured through electronic case management. The filing is to be done separately for records with different retention periods.

2. The Child and Adult Protection Authority shall organize the records by personal dossier, including all individual procedures concerning the person. It shall file the accounting documents according to the archiving date of the relevant report and the records of guardians separately.

3. Records of particular historical significance shall be identified at the time of archiving and stored separately. Likewise, records pursuant to § 32 para. 6 (crimes not subject to statutory limitation pursuant to Art. 101 of the Criminal Code) shall be identified and stored separately.

1. Archive boxes are to be used for archiving. The boxes must be clearly labeled on the outside and marked with the archive number as recorded in the system.

2. The files are to be bound within the corresponding procedure folder and stored in the archive boxes.

1. The following are preserved in the archives of the Higher Court

a) case files of the Higher Court,

b) protocol volumes with a register,

c) arbitral case files.

1. In the archive of the Special Administrative Court, its records are preserved.

1. The Arbitration Body for Equality Issues retains the records of arbitration proceedings in the court archives of the Special Administrative Court. The Special Administrative Court is responsible for their subsequent destruction.

1. The Coercive Measures Court preserves the records of coercive measures proceedings in the archives of the respective district court.

1. In the Archives of the District Courts, the following are preserved

a) Case files of the District Court in contentious and non-contentious civil matters, criminal matters, as well as in debt enforcement and bankruptcy matters,

b) Files of child and adult protection law, insofar as these have not been transferred to another authority due to a change of jurisdiction,

c) Criminal judgments, judgments relevant to civil status, judgments in claims disputes as well as in property law (as protocol volumes with register),

d) Testamentary and inheritance contract controls as well as the collection of opened dispositions upon death.

1. The Arbitration Authority for Rent and Lease preserves the records of the arbitration proceedings in the district court's archive. The district court is responsible for their subsequent destruction.

1. The Justices of the Peace shall preserve the records of the conciliation proceedings. They may transfer the records to the district court's archive for safekeeping. In such cases, the district court is responsible for their eventual destruction. The records of the Justices of the Peace must be handed over to the competent court archive no later than upon the conclusion of their term of office.

1. All administrative records are generally retained. Drafts and notes, as well as electronic notes and emails not relevant to the decisions, are not retained.

1. The following are kept in the archives of the General Secretariat

a) Dossiers and decisions (as protocol volumes with register) of the judicial administration and the supervisory commission,

b) Dossiers and decisions (as protocol volumes with register) of the attorney commission,

c) * ...

d) Business controls, cashier books, and fee controls maintained prior to the introduction of electronic data processing (EDP),

e) Business and administration-relevant documents available after the introduction of EDP,

f) Annual reports of the courts,

g) Personnel files (stored separately and securely).

1. In the archives of the Higher Court, the following are preserved

a) business records, cash books, and fee controls maintained prior to the introduction of information technology,

b) business and administration-related documents available after the introduction of information technology.

1. In the archives of the Special Administrative Court, the following are preserved

a) business and administrative relevant documents,

b) personnel files (kept separately and locked).

1. The Conciliation Board for Equality Issues preserves its administrative records in the archive of the Specialized Administrative Court. The Specialized Administrative Court is responsible for their subsequent destruction.

1. The cash and administrative records shall be kept at the district court responsible for managing the administration.

1. The archives of the district courts shall maintain

a) business controls, cash books, and fee controls maintained before the introduction of information technology,

b) business and administrative relevant documents existing after the introduction of information technology,

c) personnel files (kept separately and locked).

1. The Rental and Lease Conciliation Authority stores its administrative records in the district court's archive. The district court is responsible for their eventual destruction.

1. An archival cleanup must be conducted as necessary. During the archival cleanup, the files must be evaluated and destroyed in accordance with the deadlines specified in paragraphs 3-6, unless there is an obligation to deliver them. Exceptions to these deadlines may exist according to superior laws.

2. The deadlines are calculated from

a) court files from the date when the decision becomes legally binding,

b) administrative files from the conclusion of the case.

3. The following may be disposed of after a minimum of 10 years

a) Administrative files of the courts in general,

b) Case files of summary proceedings, except in child and adult protection law,

c) Legal sequestration and bankruptcy initiation files,

d) Files from debt enforcement proceedings,

e) * Case files of ordinary or simplified civil procedures, including labor court conciliation procedures and conciliation procedures concerning children's matters, except for procedures affecting personal status, such as divorces and separations, paternity claims and challenges,

f) Case files of criminal proceedings, provided no fine, imprisonment, or protective measure was imposed,

g) Legal assistance proceedings,

h) Files from supervisory proceedings, except for disciplinary proceedings,

i) Other files of the supervisory commission,

k) Files of the judicial administration,

l) Presidential files of the appeals chamber in criminal matters of the high court,

m) Business registers maintained before the introduction of electronic data processing, except for testament and inheritance contract controls,

n) Cash books, fee controls, and invoices maintained before the introduction of informatics,

o) Business and administrative-relevant documents available after the introduction of informatics,

p) Files of the Bar Commission; after the retention period expires, the examination works are destroyed (no delivery to graduates),

q) * Files of conciliation authorities for rent and lease and of the peace judges,

r) Files of the tax department of the special administrative court,

s) Files of the fees and expropriation department of the special administrative court,

t) Files of the equal rights conciliation board,

u) Files as well as the cash and administrative files of the coercive measures court,

v) Data carriers containing audio recordings related to the protocol,

w) Accounting records in child and adult protection law after approval of the report and the invoice.

4. The following may be disposed of after a minimum of 25 years

a) Case files of ordinary or simplified civil procedures affecting personal status, such as divorces and separations, paternity claims and challenges,

b) Case files of criminal proceedings, provided a fine, imprisonment, or protective measure (since January 1, 2007: a measure pursuant to Articles 59-61 Swiss Penal Code) was imposed, except for proceedings where a life sentence (since January 1, 2007: imprisonment) or preventive detention (since January 1, 2007: custody) was imposed,

c) Case files of administrative court proceedings and insurance court proceedings,

d) Files of disciplinary proceedings, except for the proceedings of the Bar Commission where a permanent ban on practicing the profession was pronounced,

e) Files in adult protection law after the conclusion of the measure, except for proceedings concerning welfare placement.

5. The following may be disposed of after a minimum of 50 years

a) Case files of criminal proceedings where a life sentence (since January 1, 2007: imprisonment) or preventive detention (since January 1, 2007: custody) was imposed,

b) Testament and inheritance contract controls as well as the collection of declared dispositions of property upon death,

c) Files of the Bar Commission in proceedings where a permanent ban on practicing the profession was pronounced,

d) Files in child protection law and in proceedings concerning welfare placement after the conclusion of the measure.

6. Protocol volumes and files of proceedings in which a sentence for undissolvable crimes pursuant to Article 101 Swiss Penal Code was pronounced must not be destroyed. Protocol volumes are transferred to the state archive after 25 years for secure and permanent preservation.

7. Deposited living wills and advance care directives that have not yet been executed are disposed of 120 years after the birth of the authorization or ordering person. They can be disposed of earlier if the court becomes aware of the death of the relevant person.

1. Upon the expiration of the retention period, the records shall be offered to the State Archives for further preservation. The State Archives, in consultation with the entity obligated to offer the records, shall determine which records are to be delivered to it.

2. The documents are to be prepared for further archiving by the obligated entity only once the transfer to the State Archives is confirmed.

3. Records not accepted by the State Archives are to be destroyed.

4. The substantive jurisdiction over the decision on requests for file inspection lies entirely with the State Archives after the transfer of the records to it.

1. Applications for archive clearance by the Conciliation Authority for Rent and Lease as well as by Justices of the Peace are decided by the managing District Court President. He or she informs the State Archive of the disposal of files.

2. Applications for archive clearance from the General Secretariat are decided by the Judicial Administration. It informs the State Archive of the disposal of files.

3. All other applications for archive clearance are decided by the Secretary General. The Secretary General informs the State Archive of the disposal of files.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 2017.