Ordinance of the Evangelical Church Council of the Canton of Thurgau on Records Management and Archiving - Subject Matter and Scope

1. The regulation governs the handling of documents from their creation to archiving or destruction. It defines the requirements for maintaining the archive for the purpose of permanently preserving the activities of the church communities and the regional church.

This regulation applies to the church communities and the regional church, as well as their authorities, commissions, parish offices, and staff.

2. Public-law entities and privately organized associations and entities that fulfill the tasks of the church community or the regional church shall ensure the management and archiving of records independently according to the principles of this regulation or shall entrust the church community or the regional church with this task.

1. The Maintenance and Archiving of Records Serve in Particular

1. Legal Certainty

2. Traceability of the Actions of Church Authorities and Administrations

3. Efficient, Reliable, and Continuous Administrative Management

4. Permanent, Reliable, and Authentic Transmission of Documents

5. Scientific and Private Research

**1. Terms:**

1. **Record-keeping:** The systematic recording of business transactions and the proper management and storage of the resulting documents, regardless of the data carrier (also known as document management or records management).

2. **Archive:** Archives are public institutions that take over the part of the documents produced by church congregations or the regional church that is worthy of preservation and make them accessible to the interested public.

3. **Documents:** All business-relevant documents that are created or received and stored in the fulfillment of a public task, including associated directories and supplementary data necessary for the understanding and use of these documents. Documents can be in paper form, electronic, or on another information carrier.

4. **Business:** The processing of church tasks is carried out in the form of businesses. Each individual business includes the corresponding business-relevant documents.

5. **Dossier:** The entirety of the business-relevant documents for a business (also called a file).

1. The parish or the regional church maintains its records in such a manner that the actions of the authorities, commissions, and employees are traceable and accountability is ensured.

2. Records must be complete, reliable, and comprehensible. They must accurately and dependably reflect the business transaction.

1. The information carriers shall be selected in such a manner that, with organizational and technical measures, the documents can be protected against unauthorized alterations and access. The requirements for archiving shall be considered when choosing the information carrier.

1. Documents must be protected against loss and damage.

1. Documents that are no longer needed must generally be offered to the archive for transfer within 10 years after the closure of the dossier.

2. The record-keeping department destroys the documents deemed not worthy of preservation by the archive.

1. Without the consent of the person entrusted with the management of the archives, no documents may be destroyed.

1. The church council or the church board appoints a person responsible for record-keeping and determines their duties.

1. In each parish, one of the clergy members is responsible for the parish registers.

1. Parish registers must be maintained in handwritten book form or periodically printed and bound in an archival manner.

1. The following parish registers shall be maintained

1. Register of Baptisms: This register shall record the names of all individuals baptized within the parish in the order in which the baptism is performed. Children from denominationally mixed marriages shall be recorded with an appropriate note.

2. Register of Confirmations: The names of all individuals confirmed in the parish shall be entered annually.

3. Register of Marriages: All weddings conducted in the parish shall be recorded chronologically, irrespective of the residence of the couple.

4. Register of Funerals (formerly Register of Deaths): This register shall chronologically record all church funerals held in the parish.

2. The Church Council shall define the details to be recorded in the registers.

1. The regional church and each parish maintain their own archive.

1. The archive includes all records of enduring value from the authorities, commissions, parish offices, and employees.

1. After the expiration of the retention period, the archive assumes the documents worthy of preservation for permanent archiving.

1. In particular, the following documents shall be archived

1. Leadership

1.1. Voting Messages

1.2. Election Protocols

1.3. Minutes of the Parish Meeting, Church Council, Supervisory Commission, and other committees and leadership bodies

1.4. Meeting Supplements for Church Council, Supervisory Commission, and other committee and leadership body meetings

1.5. Annual Reports of the Church Council, Supervisory Commission, and other committees and leadership bodies

1.6. Legal Basis of the Parish (Internal Directives and Regulations)

1.7. Departmental Papers, Documents on the Organization of the Parish

1.8. Documents on Office Transfers and Visitations

1.9. Documents on Admissions and Departures

1.10. Dispute and Appeal Cases

1.11. Publications and Printed Materials of the Parish

2. Finances, Personnel, Properties

2.1. Original Annual Accounts of the Parish including Auditor Reports and Church Council Approvals; Employee Files (Personnel Files)

2.2. Construction Files

2.3. Property Files

3. Church Celebrations, Pastoral Care, Teaching, Community Life (Core Tasks of the Parish)

3.1. Pastoral Registers including Blessing Certificates

3.2. Selection of Sermons

3.3. Selection of Documents for Events and Offers

3.4. Selection of Photographs and Images

4. Other Documents that are important for the ongoing comprehensibility of the parish’s actions.

2. The same principles apply correspondingly to the State Church.

1. The archived documents are recorded in an archive directory.

1. Archives may incorporate records of private origin as a supplement, provided they are significant for the history of the parish or the regional church.

1. Archived documents are publicly and free of charge accessible within the framework of the user regulations after the expiration of the protection periods.

1. The general protection period for documents is 20 years from the conclusion of the dossier.

2. The protection period for documents containing particularly sensitive personal data is 100 years from the conclusion of the dossier.

3. Documents that were publicly accessible prior to archiving remain so thereafter.

4. Affected individuals have access to their own data or may consent to the disclosure of their own data.

5. Upon request, the church council or church board may grant access to the documents during the ongoing protection period, provided the stated reasons outweigh the public or protected private interests.

1. The church congregation or the regional church ensures the permanent preservation and readability of the archival materials.

2. It guarantees the authenticity and integrity of the archival materials.

1. Responsibility for the archive lies with the Church Council or the Church Board.

1. The church administration or the church council appoints a person to manage the archives.

2. The church administration or the church council may delegate individual tasks to third parties.

1. The church congregation or the regional church may deposit their records with third parties and commission them with the management of the archive. The details are to be regulated in a service agreement. The archive depot remains the property of the church congregation.

2. The establishment of an archive depot by a church congregation requires the approval of the church council.

1. The Church Council or a designated third party advises the parishes on matters concerning records management and archiving.

1. The Church Council or a third party designated by it periodically inspects the record-keeping and registers, as well as the archives of the church congregations.

1. The regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 2019, and shall replace the regulation on the maintenance of parish registers and the establishment and management of parish archives within the church congregations dated February 6, 1980.