Archives Ordinance

1 This Ordinance governs

a. the retention of records of public bodies of the cantonal administration with a view to their transfer to and archiving by the State Archives;

b. the organisation, tasks, and rights of the State Archives.

2 It applies mutatis mutandis to the public bodies of the municipalities, to the extent that they have not issued their own regulations.

Scope of Application

1 Electronic and other records are, in particular, terms for digitally and analogously stored information on magnetic, optical, or other storage media.

2 Supplementary documents are, in particular

a. Control and finding aids such as directories, filing plans, business controls, card indexes, lists in any form of record,

b. technical aids and data necessary to make information understandable and usable.

3 Records depositories are facilities of public bodies that serve the orderly storage of records before they are offered to an archive with specialized personnel for transfer.

4 Official publications are publications appearing once or periodically, which have been produced on behalf of or with the participation of public bodies and are intended for the public or accessible to a restricted group of recipients. The following publications of public bodies are considered official publications:6

a. publicly accessible print publications,

b. manuals and service instructions,

c. commission and expert reports,

d. opinions and studies.

1 As archives with specialized staff are considered, in addition to the State Archive,

the city archives of Zurich and Winterthur, the University Archive

as well as other archives designated by the Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs.

2 They shall have, mutatis mutandis, the rights of the State Archive vis-à-vis public bodies within their area of responsibility.

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Periods of Protection

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Archives Ordinance

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1 If neither the date of death nor the date of birth of a person can be

determined, the protection period ends 80 years after the files were closed.

2 Important reasons for inspecting archived files containing

personal data of deceased persons within the meaning of Article 11, paragraph 2 of the

Archives Act³ exist if

a. the inspection is in the predominant interest of the legal successor of

the deceased person or if they have consented, or their consent can be

presumed given the circumstances,

b. the files are required for legislative, judicial, statistical, or scientific

purposes, or for a decision on the rights of

the legal successors of deceased persons.

3 The archive decides on requests for inspection.

Transition

of data protection- responsible bodies within the meaning of the Act on Information and

legal

responsibility

Archival

value

7 With the transfer of files, the State Archives becomes subject to the provisions of the

Data Protection Act of February 12, 2007 (IDG)2. Retention on behalf of a third party

in accordance with Section 13 remains reserved.

1 Records are suitable for archiving if they are expected to be of permanent value for

a. the documentation of the organization and activities of the public body,

b. the safeguarding of legitimate interests of affected persons or third parties,

c. the understanding of the present and history,

d. legislation, administrative activity, or jurisprudence,

e. science and research.

2 The State Archives shall assess the suitability of records for archiving after hearing the public bodies. It shall make the final decision.

II. Obligation to Deposit Official Publications

§§ 7-10.10

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Archives Ordinance

170.61

6 1 The public bodies shall provide the State Archives with a copy of

every official publication immediately after its completion. Printed materials

with low information content, such as advertising material, invitations, and

forms, are exempt from the duty of delivery.

2 Manuals and service instructions are subject to the duty of delivery

if they are cross-sectional or binding for at least 50 persons. The duty of

delivery also applies to their amendments and updates.

3 The public body obliged to deliver may stipulate a protection period

of up to 30 years for official publications not intended for the public. During

the protection period, the publications shall be treated as protected files.

4 In justified cases, the State Archives may conclude differing agreements

with the body obliged to deliver. In particular, it regulates the delivery of

official publications in electronic form.

III. State Archives

1. Organization and Tasks

The State Archives is an office of the Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs and is headed by the State Archivist.

**Duties**

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170.61 Archives Ordinance

The State Archives has the duty

a. to select, appraise, and register records worthy of archiving;

b. to preserve the holdings;

c. to ensure the usability of the holdings;

d. to promote and facilitate research into state, local, and personal history through consultation, the creation of registers and documentation, as well as the publication of sources and inventories;

e. to make its holdings known through public relations work;

f. to exercise professional oversight over the archives and to advise and support public bodies on matters of records management;

g. to acquire records and transmitted materials of private origin where this is significant for supplementing the holdings and for Zurich history.

1 The State Archives may, in agreement with a public body,

store files for which there is no obligation to offer yet

and for which their archival value has not yet been decided.

2 Until their transfer to the archival holdings of the State Archives, the

public body remains responsible for data protection. The State Archives

is only permitted to process them with a view to future archiving.

The State Archives issues regulations for the use of its archival materials and facilities.

2. Rights of the State Archives

§§ 15 and 16.

**Partial holdings of the State Archives can be deposited with another body by agreement if their preservation, usability, and protection against unauthorized use are ensured. Supervision of the archiving and data protection responsibility remain with the State Archives.**

The State Archives must be provided with a free specimen copy of works that are based, entirely or in part, on the use of its holdings.

1 Older archival parts within the meaning of § 6 Para. 2 of the Archival

Law³ are considered to be those holdings older than 50 years.

2 After the transfer of these holdings, the State Archives disposes

of them independently.

3. Accessibility of Archival Material

7 1 The archives of the State Archives are available to the public for

inspection, free of charge, within the framework of the Usage Regulations and in

compliance with statutory protection periods.

2 Inspection takes place under supervision. The State Archives may

require users to identify themselves.

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Archives Ordinance

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## 7 Restriction and Refusal of Access

1. Restrictions on access are governed by the IDG2. Furthermore, the State Archives may restrict or refuse access if

a. the condition of the archival material requires it,

b. the agreement with the depositors of archival material of private origin demands it.

2. Where it is necessary to protect the archival material, copies may be provided instead of originals.

1. **Loan of Archival Materials to Third Parties**

The loan of archival materials to third parties is generally only possible for exhibitions and under the following conditions

a. the condition of the archival materials permits the loan,

b. the exhibition conditions, with regard to transport, security, and conservation aspects, correspond to the archiving conditions,

c. the copyrights to the archival materials are secured,

d. the borrower bears the costs for security copies,

e. the loan does not cause disproportionate effort.

2. For the loan of archival materials of private origin, the agreements made upon acquisition shall apply.

1 The use of archival material for commercial purposes requires a permit.

2 The permit may be made subject to a contractual regulation of the scope of use and a share in the profits for the State Archives.

1 The State Archives may withdraw or restrict the right of use in the event of serious violations of the Regulations for Use.

2 Serious violations include, in particular, intentional or grossly negligent damage to and alteration of archival materials, as well as repeated alteration of the order of archival materials.

Affected persons have no right to rectification or destruction of archived data. The right to append a note concerning the accuracy or inaccuracy of data is guaranteed.

Rights of affected persons

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Archiving Ordinance

IV. Archiving Commission

Composition

8 The Archives Commission consists of the Secretary General of the Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs, the Cantonal Archivist, the City Archivists of Zurich and Winterthur, other representatives of municipal archives, the Cantonal Data Protection Officer, and a representative of the highest cantonal courts.

Duties

The Archive Commission advises the Government Council and the highest cantonal courts regarding the development and organization of archiving in the administration, as well as regarding data protection in archiving.

Repeal of ordinances

Transitional provisions

Entry into force

V. Final and Transitional Provisions

The following ordinances are repealed

a. Ordinance on Municipal Archives of April 21, 1960;

b. Ordinance for the Archives of District Authorities of November 24, 1921;

c. Ordinance on the State Archives of April 10, 1974.

1 Files of public bodies delivered to the State Archives, which the State

Archives has not yet taken over, shall, until their takeover or

return, be treated according to the provisions on storage on behalf of the client.

2 For litigation files and judgment books transferred to the State Archives from the court and municipal archives, the protection periods of the Archives Act³ and

this Ordinance shall apply until the amendment of the Ordinance of the High Court concerning the Archives of the Courts, the

Justices of the Peace, Municipal Executive, City Executive, and Debt Enforcement Offices of June 29, 1994.

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1 OS 54, 956. Former classification number LS 432.111.

2 LS 170.4.

3 LS 170.6.

4 LS 211.16.

Archive Ordinance

170.61

5 Version in accordance with Government Council Resolution of 22 September 2004 (OS 59, 288). In force since

1 November 2004.

6 Inserted by Government Council Resolution of 22 June 2005 (OS 60, 258). In force since 1 August

2005.

7 Version in accordance with Government Council Resolution of 28 May 2008 (OS 63, 334; ABI 2008, 916). In force

since 1 October 2008.

8 Version in accordance with Government Council Resolution of 25 February 2015 (OS 70, 112; ABI 2015-03-06). In

force since 1 July 2015.

9 Version in accordance with Government Council Resolution of 3 September 2019 (OS 74, 563; ABI 2019-09-13).

In force since 1 January 2020.

10 Repealed by Government Council Resolution of 3 September 2019 (OS 74, 563; ABI 2019-09-13).

In force since 1 January 2020.

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