s - Scope

1. This ordinance regulates

a. the archiving of documents

1. of the Cantonal Council,

2. of the Government Council and the cantonal administration,

3. of the courts, subject to differing provisions of the legislation on judicial organization, and

4. of other natural and legal persons under public and private law, insofar as they perform cantonal tasks;

b. the use of archival materials by the organs of the canton as well as by the public and third parties.

2. The State Archive additionally archives documents that are handed over to it as deposits by municipalities, corporations, or private individuals in accordance with statutory provisions or special agreements.

1. Archiving serves the secure storage and proper cataloging of documents that are legally, politically, economically, historically, socially, and culturally valuable for administration, legal assurance, and research.

2. Records within the meaning of this regulation include all recorded information, regardless of the medium, that has been received or created by the canton in the fulfillment of public duties, as well as all tools and supplementary data that are necessary for understanding and utilizing this information.

3. Records deemed archival materials are those that have been accepted for retention by the state archive. They are considered worthy of archiving if they have permanent administrative or legal significance or possess substantial informational value.

1. The State Archive is responsible for archiving the documents within the meaning of this regulation, unless another body is expressly designated by legislation or by the government council.

2. The State Archive is entrusted in particular with

a. Receiving, reviewing, discarding, organizing, indexing, securely preserving, including microfilming and restoring, and mediating the archival materials according to professional principles;

b. Advising the mandatory offering entities in the organization and management of their registries and interim archives, as well as issuing relevant guidelines;

c. Collecting sources related to the history of the canton and official publications in consultation with the cantonal library;

d. Archival information and documentation for the Cantonal Council, Government Council, and State Chancellery;

e. Organizing archive tours and exhibitions;

f. Publishing scientific works;

g. Preparing measures to secure archive materials in case of disasters;

h. Advising municipalities and corporations regarding the organization and management of archives;

i. Advocating for the safeguarding of archives and estates of persons under private and public law.

1. The documents must be kept by the obligated agencies in organized registries or intermediate archives. The filing plan of each obligated agency is to be prepared in consultation with the State Archives and periodically reviewed.

1. Obligation to Offer: The entities or individuals specified in Art. 1 para. 1 of this regulation are obligated to offer all documents, which they no longer need on a permanent basis, to the State Archive for acquisition.

2. The records and intermediate archives of the obligated entities are to be reviewed regarding the obligation to offer, usually every ten years.

1. The State Archive, in collaboration with the entities or individuals required to offer records, determines which documents are worthy of archiving and must be delivered.

1. The documents are to be delivered to the State Archive in an organized and clean condition. For each delivery, a delivery report and an inventory list must be prepared and attached.

2. The documents relating to resolutions of the Government Council or the Cantonal Council are to be submitted by the departments along with the applications of the State Chancellery and may not be withdrawn. Exceptions must be agreed upon with the State Chancellery and documented in an inventory list.

3. Official publications are to be delivered to the State Archive immediately upon release, usually in three copies.

1. Documents subject to the obligation to offer must not be destroyed without the consent of the State Archive.

2. As a general rule, the State Archive does not destroy documents without the consent of the delivering entity.

3. Upon the expiration of statutory or agreed retention periods with the delivering entity, the State Archive decides what is to be done with these documents.

1. Documents that were already publicly accessible before their delivery to the state archives remain public and may be made accessible via an online archive portal.

2. Furthermore, the archival materials are available for public inspection, subject to special legal provisions and Article 10 of this regulation, after the expiration of a 30-year protection period.

3. The protection period is calculated from the date of the most recent document in a transaction or dossier.

4. Access to estates or deposits from natural or legal persons is governed by the provisions of the transfer agreements. In the absence of such provisions, those applicable to the canton’s archival materials shall apply.

1. Archival materials, which are indexed by personal names and contain particularly sensitive personal data, are subject to a protection period of 50 years, unless the individual concerned has consented to access.

2. If, for certain categories of archival materials or in individual cases, there is a prevailing legitimate public or private interest in restricting access by third parties, the State Council, or in the case of court records, the Higher Court, may, upon application by the delivering entity or the State Archive, temporarily limit or prohibit access after the protection period has expired.

1. Depositing entities may, upon application to the State Archives, release archival materials for public access prior to the expiration of the protection periods stipulated in Articles 9 and 10 of this regulation, or allow individual persons to inspect them, if

a. there are no statutory provisions, and

b. no overriding legitimate public or private interests oppose it.

2. Access may be subject to conditions and requirements; in particular, the anonymization of personal data may be demanded.

3. Depositing entities may examine the documents they have deposited at any time. However, the archival material may no longer be altered.

4. Reserved are the following based on an order from the depositing entity

a. the granting of access for document publication in legal disputes;

b. the provision of information and access to affected persons according to data protection regulations. Affected persons cannot demand the destruction or correction of the data but may only have their disputed or incorrect character noted.

1. The use of archival material for commercial purposes requires the approval of the Government Council. This approval may be contingent upon a contractual agreement regarding the scope of use and any potential profit-sharing with the canton.

1. Archival materials may only be loaned out as an exception and solely for public purposes, research, or for use by government agencies. Necessary security precautions must be taken.

2. The use of archival materials must take place in the premises and during the regular opening hours of the state archive. The storage rooms are off-limits to users. Transcriptions, copies, photos, or other reproductions may only be made with the permission of the state archive.

1. From all works and publications that are based wholly or partly on archival materials from the State Archives, a complimentary copy must be provided to the State Archives free of charge.

1. Upon the entry into force of this regulation, the directives concerning the State Archive dated February 17, 1981, shall be repealed.

1. The Government Council determines when this ordinance shall come into force. It is subject to an optional referendum.