Ordinance of the supreme cantonal courts on the archiving of procedural files (Archive Ordinance of the Supreme Courts)

1 This Ordinance governs the archiving of files from the Supreme Courts, the commissions affiliated with the High Court, the District Courts, the Labour Courts, the Rental Courts, the conciliation authorities, the valuation commissions in expropriation disputes, the Building Appeals Court, the Tax Appeals Court, and, where applicable, the arbitration tribunals domiciled in the Canton of Zurich.

2 The archiving of files from the municipal debt enforcement and bankruptcy offices and the public notaries is governed by the respective special ordinances of the High Court.

II. General Provisions

The archive is intended to ensure, after the conclusion of proceedings, the further use of files and minute books by parties to proceedings and official bodies as well as third parties, and to secure a permanent documentary record in accordance with the Archival Act³.

6 Files are written, electronic, and other records, objects of inspection, and other items or assets that have been received, obtained, or created in a proceeding before the instances mentioned in § 1.

The decision books contain the judgments of the courts that resolve proceedings.

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211.16 Archive Ordinance of the Supreme Courts

Each instance mentioned in § 1 para. 1 shall ensure the appropriate storage of its files and pronouncement books.

1 The commissions attached to the Superior Court may transfer their files and registers of decisions to the Superior Court for safekeeping.

2 The archives of the Superior Court also take over the safekeeping of files from arbitration tribunals with a seat in the Canton of Zurich, which have been transferred to it for this purpose.

The files of the labor courts, the rent courts, and the conciliation authorities in rental and lease matters are kept in the corresponding District Court Archive.

The Justice of the Peace offices deliver their files three years after the conclusion of business to the relevant District Court Archive for further storage.

The records of the valuation commissions in expropriation disputes are kept by the governorates, both in cases that have been appealed and in other cases.

6 Responsibility for the proper storage and administration of files in court archives, as well as for their delivery and destruction, lies with the Secretaries-General for the supreme courts, with the Chief District Court Clerks for the district courts, or with the corresponding functions at the lower courts. Where an archivist has been appointed, that person bears the responsibility.

The authors are responsible for the secure storage or destruction of personal documents such as draft dispositions, handwritten notes, etc.

For records in court archives and in the State Archives, official secrecy and data protection apply during a protection period of thirty years from their archiving. For records containing personal data, this protection period is thirty years from the death of the data subjects and, if the death is uncertain, one hundred years from their birth. If neither the date of death nor the date of birth of a person can be determined, the protection period ends eighty years after the creation of the record.

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Archiving Ordinance of the Supreme Courts

III. Principles of Archiving

211.16

The archived files must be stored in lockable rooms and protected from harmful influences (fire, dust, moisture, direct sunlight, etc.).

The archive files are to be arranged by court office, type of procedure, and date of completion, or by archive numbers. The connection between the archive and process numbers must be ensured by electronic case management. The corresponding lists are to be printed out at least once a year and stored collectively.

The containers (cupboards, boxes, files, bound volumes of maxims) must be legibly labeled on the outside.

IV. Inspection of Files Not Archived with the State Archives

When requests are made by parties to proceedings for the release of files and access to files, the entitlement of the requesting parties must be verified.

6 Access by Third Parties, Handover of Files and Provision of Information to Third Parties, Including Court Reporters

Access by third parties, the handover of files, and the provision of information to third parties, including court reporters, are governed by the Ordinance on Information about Court Proceedings and Access to Files by Third Parties at Courts2.

6 Files transferred to the Superior Court Archives by the Supervisory

Commission for Lawyers may be made available to external persons, including

court and public authorities, only on the basis of a written decision by the

Commission itself.

When releasing files, the following guidelines must be observed

a. Outgoing files must be marked as archive files with a clear indication of the release point,

b. a written control must be kept over the release and return of the files,

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211.16

Archive Regulation of the Supreme Courts

c. for every file release, a receipt must be requested, showing the release date, purpose, and estimated duration of use,

d. a duplicate of the receipt must be placed in the location of the released files.

V. Commencement and Duration of Archiving

6 Archiving generally takes place after the conclusion of the proceedings. For sufficient reason, particularly if the files are to be used in a further, still pending procedure, archiving will only occur upon the conclusion of this further procedure. Proceedings are considered concluded after the expiry of the deadlines for filing ordinary and extraordinary legal remedies (excluding revision).

1 The files shall be kept in the court archives for fifteen years, unless the following provisions or overriding law prescribe otherwise.

2 The files of divorce proceedings as well as loss certificates shall be kept for twenty years. In criminal proceedings, Art. 103 StPO4 remains reserved.6

3 The judgment books shall be kept for fifty years, as shall the files of the Single Court in inheritance matters.6

VI. Transfer to the State Archives, Protection Period and Destruction of Files

1 Upon expiry of the retention period, the files must be offered to the State Archives for further storage.

2 The State Archives, in consultation with the entities obliged to deliver records, determines which files are to be delivered and which can be destroyed after the expiry of the specified retention periods.

3 The files must be delivered to the State Archives in an organised manner and with an inventory. After delivery, the power of disposal transfers to the State Archives.

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Archives Ordinance of the Supreme Courts

211.16

Furthermore, a copy of all internal publications (annual reports, commemorative publications, documentations, etc.) must be continuously provided to the State Archives.

The transport of the files to the State Archives is the responsibility of the depositing agencies.

Files not taken over by the State Archives must be destroyed after the expiry of the retention period. Care must be taken to ensure that misuse of the files is excluded.

The files are to be delivered to the State Archives, and the remaining

files are to be destroyed, upon order of the President of the Court.

VII. Retention of Audio Recordings and Manual Minutes

6 Audio Recordings and Minutes of Hearings

may be destroyed no earlier than one year after the conclusion of the proceedings.

VIII. Entry into Force

This Ordinance shall enter into force on 1 July 2001. It shall be included in the

Official Compilation of Laws. The Ordinance of the High Court

concerning the archives of the courts, the justices of the peace, municipal

presidents, city presidents, and debt collection offices of 29 June 1994

is repealed upon the entry into force of this Ordinance.

1 OJ 56, 576.

2 LL 211.15.

3 LL 432.11; today: LL 170.6.

4 SR 312.0.

5 Version according to Decision of 11 June 2002 (OJ 58, 143). In force since 1 August 2003.

6 Version according to Decision of 14 September 2010 (OJ 65, 711; ABI 2010, 2131). In

force since 1 January 2011.

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