Ordinance on Registries and Archiving - Organization

1. The State Archive is managed by the State Archivist and falls under the Presidential Department.

1. Public-law corporations and institutions of the canton and municipalities, which constitute a public body within the meaning of § 3 para. 1 of the Information and Data Protection Act, are subject to § 2 para. 1 lit. c of the Archives Act.

1. When the Government Council and the municipalities delegate public tasks to public-law corporations and institutions of the canton and municipalities, as well as to private individuals and organizations, they simultaneously decide whether these tasks are subject to the Archive Act pursuant to § 2 para. 2.

2. If existing legal bases or contracts with such persons and institutions do not contain provisions regarding archiving in the sense of § 2 para. 2 of the Archive Act, the Government Council and the municipalities shall each decide on this archiving when the existing legal bases or contracts with such persons and institutions are revised.

1. The Executive Council ensures that inter-cantonal institutions, in which it participates, comply with archival legal standards as per the Archives Act. This is particularly ensured by proposing provisions in the sense of the Archives Act during the establishment of such institutions or when amending their legal foundations, concerning the obligation to offer, the right to use, and the rights of affected individuals.

1. The State Archive supports the general governmental measures to promote the transparency of administration.

1. Documentation materials, which serve to supplement the remaining archival assets, particularly include visual materials, printed matter, newspaper clippings, as well as a library.

1. The State Archive is authorized to transfer documentation materials to suitable institutions, provided that the public interest in preserving, cataloging, and providing access to these documents is not compromised. This also applies to documents of private origin, although for deposited documents, only if the depositors agree.

1. The State Archive is the cantonal specialist authority for municipal supervision in archival matters.

1. Those parts of the municipal archives that are deposited in the State Archive shall be preserved, cataloged, and made available by the State Archive.

1. Carriers of information are all materials used for the storage or reproduction of data in analog and digital form.

1. Considered as aids necessary for understanding and using documents are finding aids in the traditional sense, as well as metadata in electronic systems.

a) Finding aids in the traditional sense particularly include directories, registers, card files, lists, classification overviews, and filing plans.

b) Metadata in electronic systems include supplementary information about

- the structure (organization, layout, format, etc.),

- the processing context (persons, involved entities, output devices, transactions, etc.),

- the content of primary data, without which these cannot be understood, read, and processed.

1. Documents from Electronic Systems are

a) Documents that are produced as interim, ancillary, or final products of electronic processing operations and may exist in digital or analog form;

b) Documents that are exclusively accessible in digital form and can only be read using electronic tools (digital documents).

1. Public bodies shall keep records organized and protect them from damage and loss until they are offered to the state archive. The following must be particularly considered

a) Business transactions must be traceable at any time from the preserved records. To this end, the records must be complete and reliable.

b) The reliability and authenticity of offered records, particularly those from electronic systems, must be ensured with appropriate organizational and technical measures.

c) The technical aids used must comply with the technical standards of the canton, particularly in the field of office automation.

d) Durable information carriers that guarantee sufficient longevity should be used. Writing materials and other tools that do not degrade the information carrier should be used.

2. The state archive issues instructions for the organization and security of records held by public bodies.

1. Each public authority shall prepare an organizational overview of its files, including supplementary finding aids, and maintain them accordingly. It shall file its documents according to this system. Central filing systems of authorities with a broad range of functions shall use a filing plan as their organizational overview.

2. When establishing new organizational overviews and finding aids, the public authority shall consult with the state archive to ensure that these can later be adopted into the state archive with as few changes as possible and used for the verification of the associated documents.

3. The applicable organizational overviews shall be made accessible to the state archive, and any fundamental changes shall be communicated to it immediately upon their implementation. The organizational overview shall include

a) a classification system for the organization of documents,

b) statutory and administrative retention periods,

c) regulations for the management of documents,

d) any decisions by the state archive regarding the appraisal of documents.

1. Every public authority shall designate a person responsible for the orderly management and preservation of records.

1. The State Archive, in its advisory function for public agencies as per § 5 section 4 of the Archive Act, contributes to ensuring that

a) records, regardless of the information carrier, can be managed lawfully, securely, and efficiently for the purposes of information exchange, preservation, utilization, and archiving,

b) the handling of records from the time of their creation to their final archiving in the State Archive follows uniform principles,

c) individuals responsible for the management and preservation of the records receive further training.

1. If the State Archive, pursuant to Section 5, Paragraph 6 of the Archives Act, takes over records which the responsible body still needs to fulfill its duties, a written agreement is made with it. This agreement particularly specifies

a) the modalities of usage,

b) the allocation of costs,

c) the timing of the final appraisal, i.e., the offering in accordance with Section 7, Paragraph 1 of the Archives Act.

1. The state archive examines whether the conditions of § 6 para. 4 of the Archive Act are met and decides whether state archival materials can be stored at a location other than the state archive.

2. A prerequisite for archiving at another location is, in particular, that technical and organizational measures prevent access to personal data according to § 12 para. 3 of the Archive Act.

3. If state archival materials are stored at a location other than the state archive, the following decisions, in particular, remain reserved to the state archive

a) Use of archival materials before the expiration of the protection periods according to § 10 paras. 5 and 6 of the Archive Act,

b) Use by public authorities according to § 12 para. 3 of the Archive Act,

c) Exercise of the rights of the affected persons.

4. The state archive receives copies of all inventories and finding aids of the archival materials stored at another location.

1. In the evaluation of documents from electronic systems, public authorities involve the state archive already in the planning stages of new systems.

2. To fulfill its duties, the state archive has access to all systems whose data needs to be evaluated for archival value, particularly to the relevant project, system, and application documentation.

3. If it is determined that a planned system generates documents relevant to the archive, the state archive must be involved in the corresponding project in an appropriate manner.

1. If documents from electronic systems, which the State Archive has deemed worthy of archiving, are fully and reliably stored and preserved in analog form (on paper or microfilm) while maintaining their reliability and authenticity, the responsible body may be exempted from the obligation to offer the data contained in the system.

1. Public authorities shall separate documents that are no longer needed and offer them to the state archive, usually no later than ten years after the completion of the documents in accordance with § 10 paragraph 3 of the Archives Act.

2. Documents from electronic systems, particularly digital documents, shall be offered to the state archive at the earliest possible time pursuant to § 19.

1. Documents and contracts executed by the Government Council or subject to its approval must be delivered to the State Archive immediately after their issuance.

1. The State Archive, together with the respective public body that generates the records, reviews the documents for their lasting value and then decides on their archival worthiness.

1. Public bodies shall enter into deposit agreements with the State Archives that

a) regulate the periodicity of the deposits,

b) grant the respective record-producing bodies the authority, within the framework of delegated competence, to destroy precisely defined documents based on substantive and formal criteria, without needing to consult the State Archives beforehand.

1. A list of the delivered documents, including a brief description of their contents and an indication of any personal data, along with the time spans of the individual series, must be attached to the deliveries. A record must be prepared for any files that the state archive has approved for destruction, and this record must be delivered to the state archive.

1. The use of archival materials takes place in the State Archive. The State Archive may allow the use of certain aids and documents through an electronic access system.

2. The State Archive may require the presentation of an identity card before use.

3. The loan of archival materials to third parties is generally only possible for exhibitions, provided that

a) the condition of preservation allows the loan,

b) the exhibition conditions regarding transport, security, and conservation standards are met,

c) the respect for copyright of the archival material is ensured,

d) the borrower covers the costs for security copies,

e) the loan does not cause disproportionate effort.

4. The right to use includes finding aids, provided that public interest or overriding legitimate interests of affected individuals or third parties are not impaired.

5. Reproductions are made or permitted, provided that

a) the condition of preservation of the archival materials and the capacities of the State Archive allow it,

b) no legitimate public and private interests, including copyright, are impaired.

1. Restriction or Exclusion of the Use of Archival Material Beyond the Standard Protection Periods in Accordance with Archive Act § 9 para. 2 lit. a is enacted by the State Archive after consultation with the transferring agency.

2. The State Archive maintains a publicly accessible list of those archival materials whose use is restricted or excluded pursuant to § 9 para. 2 lit. a of the Archive Act.

3. Upon request, the user shall receive an official decision in the event of restriction or exclusion of use according to § 9 para. 2 lit. a of the Archive Act.

1. Disproportionate Administrative Effort, which may restrict or exclude use, can in particular arise if

a) the archival materials are inadequately organized,

b) the administrative effort for multiple similar requests for use would not be possible without violating the principle of equal treatment,

c) digital documents cannot be made accessible and readable without significant additional effort.

1. Gratuitous services include, in particular

a) Assistance in using finding aids,

b) General reading room service, including the provision of requested archival materials,

c) Consultation regarding the use of archival materials, subject to the provisions of paragraph 2(a),

d) Responses to simple written and telephone inquiries.

2. The following are considered special services according to Archive Law § 9 Paragraph 3

a) Responses to inquiries and consultations on usage that require more extensive research,

b) Production of reproductions and reproduction templates,

c) Issuance of copies and certifications as well as transcriptions,

d) Provision of archival materials for evidently material benefits.

3. Reproductions and reproduction templates are made for a fee. The State Archive may waive the fee partially or entirely, especially if the reproduction does not serve an evidently material benefit.

4. The details are governed by the State Archive's fee ordinance.

5. For construction plans, the regulation concerning the borrowing of construction files applies.

1. Grossly violates the usage regulations and is excluded from use, specifically,

a) whoever intentionally or negligently damages archival materials,

b) whoever repeatedly disrupts the order of archival materials,

c) whoever repeatedly or severely violates the reading room regulations,

d) whoever disregards the legitimate interests of affected persons or third parties, particularly those who disregard conditions linked to the usage of archival materials before the expiration of the protection period.

**1.** Whoever publishes a work that is substantially based on the use of state archival materials must, without being requested, deliver a complimentary copy to the state archive after the publication of the work.

**2.** If the delivery of a complimentary copy is unreasonable for the user, particularly due to the low circulation or high cost of the work, he or she may either provide the state archive with a copy of the work for reproduction or demand reasonable compensation for its own reproduction.

**3.** Paragraphs 1 and 2 apply accordingly to publications of the user in composite works or journals, as well as to works that are not published, including those in digital form.

1. Public documents that were intended for publication or accessible to the public either at the time of their creation or during their usage may be disclosed to the extent and in the manner in which they have been published or were available.

1. Parts of archival units can be made accessible before the expiration of the protection period of the entire archival unit.

2. The prerequisites for this are, in particular, that

a) no protected public and private interests are adversely affected,

b) the division requires only minimal operational effort.

1. The extension of the protection period under § 10 paragraph 4 of the Archive Act is agreed upon mutually between the state archive and the submitting entity.

2. The extension is justified in writing.

3. Users have the right to access this justification unless overriding public interest opposes such access or the legitimate interests of affected individuals or third parties are compromised.

4. The state archive maintains a publicly accessible list of archival materials for which the protection period has been extended.

1. Requests for the use of archival materials before the expiration of protection periods must be submitted in writing.

2. Anyone submitting a request to use these archival materials must provide identification.

3. The request must specify: the purpose of use, including any planned publication and, if available, the context of use (in particular, university events, collections, lecture series, public relations).

4. The state archive may consult the delivering public authority and decides on requests based particularly on the following criteria

a) Purpose of use,

b) Age of the documents,

c) Content of the documents,

d) Proportionality of the necessary effort for review, especially considering the principle of equal treatment.

5. Requests to use medical archival materials are decided by the state archive in agreement with the delivering entity. The state archive decides independently if, based on the content and age of the documents, it is evident that no interests are still affected whose protection is served by medical confidentiality.

6. Relatives as defined by the Archive Law include spouses, registered partners, individuals in a de facto domestic partnership, as well as their competent direct descendants after their death, and if there are no direct descendants, the parents and competent siblings.

1. The transferring body, which is consulted by the State Archive before the reduction of retention periods, does not thereby acquire the right to reuse its former archival material if it contains personal data (§ 12 para. 1 sentence 1 Archive Law).

1. The transferring public authority and other public authorities entitled under Section 12(2) of the Archive Act may also use their archival materials outside the State Archive.

2. The following conditions apply

a) The documents must be preserved, organized, and cataloged in such a manner that damage to the archival materials and loss of parts of the archival materials are excluded.

b) Public access to the documents must be reasonably guaranteed during the loan period.

c) The loan is time-limited.

1. Expenditure is not reasonable for locating the data of the affected person, especially if no finding aids exist or if specific details about the time period or the involved authorities are missing.

2. Upon request, the state archive provides the information in writing.

3. Access to the archival material may be granted in particular if it does not impair the legitimate interests of third parties and no legitimate public interests are affected.

4. Affected persons receive an order upon application if access or information is restricted or denied.

1. This regulation is to be published; it shall become effective simultaneously with the Law on Archiving (Archives Law) dated September 11, 1996, on November 1, 1998.

2. The regulation concerning the registries of public administration and the transfers to the state archive dated January 26, 1956, is hereby repealed.