Ordinance on the State Archives and the Archiving of Administrative Records (Archiving Ordinance) (Archivverordnung) - Purpose and Scope

1. This regulation governs the preservation and accessibility of the administrative records of the canton as well as the duties of the State Archive.

2. It applies to

a) the registries of the departments and institutions of the cantonal administration

b) the registries of the Grand Council and the Government Council

c) the State Archive

3. Only § 14 para. 3 applies to the Schaffhausen Cantonal Bank.

4. Deviating provisions in other enactments remain reserved.

1. Official documents shall include all written, photographic, and audio records, as well as electronic and other information carriers, that have originated from or are related to the activities of government authorities and administrative bodies.

1. The offices and institutions of the cantonal administration collect the administrative records arising from their activities in a registry.

2. Exceptions are records that are of only insignificant or merely temporary importance and are not related to an administrative procedure.

3. The registries of the offices and institutions must limit themselves to records that directly result from their activities or are necessary for the fulfillment of their tasks. The provisions of data protection law remain reserved for personal data.

4. Use copies must be made of documents of particular importance. The originals must be stored separately and securely. They may be transferred to the state archive for safekeeping.

1. The agencies and institutions designate a person responsible for the registry.

1. Offices and institutions regulate the organization and maintenance of the registry in a registry plan.

2. The registry plan also takes into account data collections managed with IT resources and regulates, within the framework of the data protection provisions, their safeguarding through printouts, backup copies, and similar means, as well as their storage.

3. The registry plan establishes registry periods. These should generally be no less than ten and no more than twenty years.

4. Furthermore, the requirements for the durability of the writing and image carriers used are specified.

5. A copy of the registry plan, as well as all its amendments and additions, must be submitted to the state archive before they come into effect.

1. The records shall be retained in the registries of the administrative offices and institutions for as long as they are needed for ongoing administrative activities, but generally for at least ten years.

2. The records shall be accessed through suitable directories, card indexes, and similar means.

1. The registries shall be cleared at the end of each registry period in agreement with the State Archive.

2. If the files from a registry period are no longer needed, they must be offered in entirety to the State Archive for transfer. Files may not be destroyed without the consent of the State Archive, except for surplus copies and duplicates.

3. Records taken over by the State Archive must be delivered with an inventory list. The State Archive shall confirm receipt to the delivering entity on a duplicate of the inventory list.

4. Files not taken over by the State Archive must be destroyed while preserving data protection.

1. The State Chancellery maintains the records of the government council's documents.

2. Government council documents include the resolutions and correspondence of the government council, as well as other administrative records that are directly related to them.

3. The government council documents are accessible for inspection by departments, offices, and institutions. They can be lent to them if necessary.

1. Categories of government council records that due to their volume or nature are not suitable for storage in the State Chancellery's registry, or that continue to be frequently needed by another office or institution, may be stored entirely at the relevant office or institution with the approval of the State Chancellery. A copy of the registry plan must be submitted to the State Chancellery.

2. The records from the preliminary legislative procedure remain with the competent office until the related enactment comes into force.

3. The records of contested government council decisions remain with the competent office until the legal remedy process is conclusively completed.

1. The departments, offices, and institutions are responsible for ensuring that one copy of the following documents is submitted to the State Chancellery

a) Contracts and agreements

b) Concessions

c) Legal opinions

d) Administrative court decisions

1. Otherwise, the provisions of Section 2 shall apply to the government council records.

1. The State Chancellery manages the registry of the Grand Council's records in accordance with the instructions of the Grand Council's office, which also decides on access to the records.

2. Records that are still needed for the current affairs of the council remain with the secretary of the Grand Council.

1. The State Archive performs the following tasks

a) It collects and secures administrative records of permanent value that arise from the activities of the authorities, offices, independent and dependent institutions of the canton, as well as the courts.

b) In addition, it collects important non-governmental source material related to the history of the Canton of Schaffhausen, its municipalities, as well as its citizens and residents, in coordination with municipal archives and public libraries.

c) It indexes its collections through the necessary aids (indexes, catalogs, reference library) and facilities.

d) It provides information and issues opinions based on its holdings and within the scope of its personnel capabilities.

e) It advises and supports offices and institutions in the creation of filing plans and the management of registries.

f) It promotes understanding of the canton’s history and the preservation of historically important documents through its own research and informational activities and by supporting the research activities of third parties.

1. The State Archive is the central final archive of the canton.

2. The cantonal service departments and dependent institutions are obliged to deliver. For the dependent institutions, the government council or, with the consent of the State Archive, the competent department may establish different regulations.

3. The cantonal courts, autonomous cantonal institutions, institutions with mixed sponsorship, as well as the cantonal public-law corporations, can utilize the services of the State Archive as a final archive. In such cases, they are required to commit to a continuous delivery of their administrative records and to prepare and submit a filing plan in accordance with § 3.

4. The district and regional authorities can use the services of the State Archive as a final archive under the same conditions, provided that archiving is not ensured by the district or regional main office.

1. The State Archive shall take appropriate measures for the preservation and safeguarding of archival materials.

1a. The storage and safeguarding of data in connection with electronic long-term archiving may be carried out by the State Archive within or outside the canton of Schaffhausen, but in Switzerland.

2. Particularly valuable or endangered documents are secured by recording them on microfilms or other suitable information carriers, which are stored separately from the originals.

1. The State Archive is open to the public for use.

2. The State Archive establishes the opening hours and the terms of use in a user regulation.

1. Administrative records that have been created with the exclusion of the public are accessible to private individuals or parties other than the delivering authorities only after a period of 50 years following their conclusion. For particularly sensitive personal data, the period is 100 years. Deviating provisions of other statutes remain reserved.

2. The delivering authority decides on the exceptional granting of access during the restricted period.

3. If particularly sensitive personal data are involved, the data protection officer must be consulted in cases of doubt.

4. For documents of non-official origin, special usage restrictions can be agreed upon with the previous owners.

1. Departments and institutions of the canton or municipalities may temporarily borrow records. Particularly valuable, damage-prone, or frequently required records by the archive or users are excluded from being loaned.

2. Records are not loaned to private individuals.

3. Decisions regarding loans for exhibitions are made by the State Archive.

1. The reproduction and publication of documents require the approval of the State Archives.

2. The approval is granted on the condition that a complimentary copy or a special print is provided to the State Archives.

1. The use of the State Archive is free of charge.

2. Fees may be charged for special services provided to third parties.

3. The fees are determined analogously according to the provisions of the Administrative Fees Ordinance of October 16, 1973.

4. For research or expert opinion assignments, the State Archive charges an hourly rate ranging from CHF 100.00 to CHF 200.00, depending on the complexity and significance of the assignment for the Archive’s own research activities. The State Chancellery adjusts the fee range if the national consumer price index has changed by more than 5% since the issuance of this regulation or since the last adjustment; the calculation is based on the index level of December 1993, which was at 100.4 points.

1. The offices and institutions must notify the state archive of the person responsible for the registry by March 31, 1994.

2. The state archive, after consulting with the offices, sets the date for the submission of the registry plans.

1. The following enactments are hereby repealed

a) the Ordinance on the Organization and Management of the State Chancellery and the State Archives dated March 2, 1881

b) the Directive of the Council of Ministers regarding the Council of Ministers' Records dated April 23, 1969

1. This regulation shall enter into force on February 15, 1994.

2. It shall be published in the Official Gazette and included in the cantonal legislative collection.