Regulation on the Application of the Law on Archiving and Public Archives (RLArch) (RLARCH)

This regulation specifies

a) the duties of the Canton's services, and of the bodies and organizations subject to the law;

b) access to archives;

c) the role and competencies of the State Archives.

1 The archival institution is the entity that, equipped with adequate resources and personnel with specific competencies, preserves and manages the archives within its purview.

2 Self-archiving services are defined as those units of the Canton, public bodies, and organizations subject to the law that do not refer to an archival institution and independently manage the archiving of their own documents.

3 The individual archives preserved by archival institutions and self-archiving services are complexes of documents intended for permanent preservation and linked to each other by a bond derived from their origin, as they are attributable to a single creating entity, or by other content-related elements, in the case of collections.

4 An administrative archive is defined as the complex of documents belonging to current and concluded cases preserved by the creating service as they are still useful for current administrative activity.

1 The State Archives shall establish and manage electronically an updated list of the bodies and organizations subject to the law.

2 Services that archive their own records independently shall be listed separately.

3 The State Archives shall be responsible for publishing these lists on the Internet.

The services of the Canton, the entities and bodies subject to the law shall ensure that the documents they elaborate allow for the verification of their operations at all times.

1 The bodies and services subject to the law adopt the organizational, administrative, and technical measures necessary for the production and management of documents suitable for archiving.

2 They designate a reference person for the management and preservation of documents, and communicate this to the State Archives.

3 They define a document classification system that reflects their duties and activities (classification plan, purging plan, or similar), and organize their documents according to this system.

4 The classification system forms the basis for the archiving of documents; it is updated periodically.

1 The documents that make up the administrative archive are preserved by the producing service as long as specific and objective needs for their utilization exist; for concluded files, the maximum retention period is generally ten years.

2 The documents of the administrative archive must, where possible, be kept separately from documents archived under the law.

1 Services that do not archive themselves shall offer documents they no longer use frequently, or that no longer meet objective usage needs, to the competent archival institution; as a rule, the offer shall be made within ten years from the date of the last addition.

2 The period mentioned in paragraph 1 may be extended by the competent archival institution if the service concerned makes it plausible that it still needs the documents for the fulfillment of its tasks.

3 In the event of the dissolution of a Cantonal service, an entity, or an organization, the relevant documents must be offered to an archival institution, in agreement with any successor.

1 The service obliged to offer its documents indicates the documents that have archival value from a legal and administrative perspective and, to the extent possible, those that might have archival value of another nature.

2 At the time of offering the documents, any restrictions on consultation must be indicated pursuant to Art. 10 of the law.

The competent archival institution, considering the indications made by the service required to offer its documents, decides on the permanent archiving of the documents according to the principles of the law. It evaluates the documents offered from a historical perspective and the principles of archiving.

1 The inalienability of public archives also concerns those related to entities and organizations that no longer exist.

2 Archives may be alienated only if they are available in two or more identical copies and the copies are no longer necessary.

1 Services that self-archive regulate the methods and details of the management and archiving of their documents according to the principles of the law.

2 They are led by individuals with the necessary technical skills and knowledge in archival matters, and they make available logistical and financial resources.

3 Article 9 is applicable by analogy.

1 The technical responsibility for the correct management and archiving of documents of services that archive their own documents rests with their respective executive bodies, directorates, or the persons designated by special laws, and, for the services of the Canton, with the relevant executive official.

2 Civil liability is governed by the Law on the Civil Liability of Public Entities and Public Agents of 24 October 1988.

If the self-archiving service intends to outsource archiving or document management to third parties through mandates, the self-archiving service, in agreement with the State Archive, shall guarantee compliance with the law by preliminarily regulating the conditions and procedures through an agreement.

1 Anyone has the right to consult public archives after the expiry of the protection periods referred to in Articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Law.

**2 The right to consult archives includes, in particular:**

a) consulting search tools;

b) consulting documents;

c) photographic, photomechanical or digital reproduction, subject to limitations relating to preservation;

d) reproduction and use of the information obtained, subject to the provisions relating to the protection of personality and, in particular, data protection.

**3 Subject to the limitations provided for by law, the modalities for consulting archives are established on a case-by-case basis, including through charges and conditions, particularly if the processing of the request entails administrative commitments of a certain importance.**

Access to the documents of the administrative archive of the producing service is governed by the State Information and Transparency Act of March 15, 2011, and by the Personal Data Protection Act of March 9, 1987.

1 The protection period applies in principle to an entire file or an entire case.

2 The year of the most recent document is decisive for calculating the protection period. Documents subsequently attached, which do not contain information relevant to the progress of the case, are not taken into account for the purpose of calculating the period.

3 The competent authority may authorize the consultation of files or cases for which the protection period has not yet expired if

a) the research focuses on documents that are no longer subject to the protection period, or

b) the consultation of all documents is made necessary by well-founded research needs or other comparable public interest purposes.

1 If an overriding public or private interest worthy of protection opposes consultation by third parties, the ordinary protection period referred to in Art. 9 of the Act may be extended for specific categories of archives or in particular cases.

2 For categories, the extended protection period is, in principle, a total of 50 years.

Requests for archive consultation must, as a rule, be submitted in writing.

Requests for consultation during

1 Requests for consultation during the protection period must be submitted and reasoned in writing.

2 Consultation during the protection period shall be authorized if the requested documents relating to facts or persons were already accessible to the public before the expiry of the protection period; new preponderant public or private interests worthy of protection contrary to consultation are reserved.

Requests for consultation during the

1 Requests for consultation during the extended protection period in accordance with Art. 9 of the Act must be submitted and reasoned in writing.

2 The applicant must provide proof that

a) the consent of the person concerned has been given; or that

b) the person concerned has been deceased for at least three years.

3 The conditions of the preceding paragraph do not need to be fulfilled if the request concerns research not related to specific persons.

4 If the requested documents relating to facts or persons were already publicly accessible before the expiry of the extended protection period, Art. 19 para. 2 applies.

1 Authorization to consult archives during protection periods may be subject to charges and conditions such as the prohibition of exploiting certain parts of files, the obligation to anonymize data, and the obligation to submit the research product before its publication.

2 The authorized person may be required to sign a written declaration confirming their awareness of the charges and conditions.

Legal Remedies [3]

[3] Marginal note amended by O 18.2.2014; in force since 1.3.2014 - AS 2014, 115.

1 In the event of a total or partial refusal of authorization, the applicant may request the issuance of a formal, reasoned decision challengeable by appeal in accordance with Art. 24 of the Law.

2 In the absence of specific provisions, the procedure shall be governed by the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law of September 24, 2013. [4]

[4] Para. amended by R 18.2.2014; in force since 1.3.2014 - BU 2014, 115.

1 The State Archives ensure the correct indefinite preservation of deposited documents, regardless of their medium.

2 It collaborates with the competent services of the Canton to guarantee the necessary environmental and technical conditions.

3 For the preservation and restoration of particular types of media, it may avail itself of the collaboration of specialized bodies and institutions.

1 The State Archives prepares and publishes inventories, repertories, and other research tools.

2 The details relating to the consultation and reproduction of documents are governed by the regulations of the State Archives.

1 The State Archives promotes and supports the scientific publication of sources related to Ticino.

2 It promotes historical research concerning Ticino and the dissemination of its results, within the limits of its possibilities, and collaborates for this purpose with academic institutions and other entities active in the sector.

3 It promotes the organization of events, courses, and manifestations to encourage the spread of archival science and knowledge of Ticino's documentary heritage.

1 The State Archives provides consultancy to the Canton's services on matters related to archival science, as well as on the introduction and application of document management systems.

2 It also provides consultancy to other services that archive independently.

3 It makes available models and reference schemes for defining classification systems and for regulating archives.

Financial Decision-Making Powers

[5] Decision-making powers regarding current expenditure are attributed as follows

a) to the Director of the State Archives up to CHF 10,000.–;

b) to the Director of the Division of Culture and University Studies for amounts exceeding CHF 10,000.– and up to CHF 30,000.–;

c) to the Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Sport for amounts exceeding CHF 30,000.– and up to CHF 100,000.–;

d) to the State Council for amounts exceeding CHF 100,000.–.

[5] Article introduced by R 23.12.2014; in force since 30.12.2014 - BU 2014, 593.

1 To ensure uniform practice and compliance with the principles of the law, the State Archives may inspect the archives of cantonal services and services that maintain their own archives.

2 The inspections concern in particular

a) compliance with environmental conditions, specifically protection from fire, humidity, natural damage, and theft;

b) compliance with security conditions, particularly the methods for preventing unauthorized access;

c) the order of the archives;

d) the application of effective document management.

3 The State Archives shall prepare a written report for each inspection carried out and send a copy to the service or entity concerned.

4 If non-compliant situations are found, the State Archives shall invite the service concerned to remedy them; in case of non-compliance, it shall take the necessary measures and also report the case to the competent Supervisory Authority.

1 The services of the Canton and the Information Systems Centre shall consult the State Archives from the planning phase of new information systems, and the State Archives shall verify their compliance with archival requirements during the implementation of projects.

2 The State Archives may access all information systems of the Canton in order to ascertain the archival value of the related data; official secrecy may not be invoked against it.

3 The methods for preserving documents on electronic media shall be defined by mutual agreement between the State Archives and the Information Systems Centre.

1 Services required to offer their documents to the State Archives shall proceed according to the procedures specified in Articles 7 and 8.

2 At the time of offer, documents produced by cantonal services must be accompanied by a list that includes at least the following information

a) description of the content of the documents and their chronological scope;

b) presence of personal data;

c) retention periods.

3 The service required to offer its documents shall ensure that the documents are prepared in such a way that they can be assessed for the purpose of determining their archival value and, where appropriate, archived without further burden.

4 It shall arrange for their delivery in agreement with the State Archives.

5 Details regarding the obligation to offer and the deposit of documents are governed by specific instructions from the State Archives.

1 Basic services provided by the State Archives to the public, such as support in identifying and consulting documents, are free of charge, provided that the effort is compatible with rational administrative management.

2 For additional services to the public, such as, specifically, in-depth support for initiating or completing research or reproductions of documents, costs are billed based on the time spent and material expenses.

3 Archival consultancy provided by the State Archives to services that manage their own archives is free of charge to the extent that it is specific and involves a limited time commitment; more extensive interventions are agreed upon with the applicants and billed.

4 The applied tariffs refer to the tariff schedule for billing external services provided by employees of the cantonal administration.

Disciplinary sanctions are imposed by the competent supervisory authority in accordance with special law.

The contraventions fall within the jurisdiction of the Department of Education, Culture and Sport.

[6] This regulation shall be published in the Official Gazette of Laws and Executive Acts and shall enter into force on June 1, 2012.

Published in OG 2012, 129.

[6] Art. amended by R 28.3.2012; in force from 1.6.2012 - OG 2012, 147.