Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla (Dec 2016)

Preservation of Administrative Records

  • Kristín Benediktsdóttir,
  • Trausti Fannar Valsson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 2
pp. 321 – 342

Abstract

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A great amount of information is accumulated by public authorities. The preservation or disposal of such information is regularly the subject of disputes. This paper addresses the Articles of the Public Archives Act No. 77/2014 that specify what records should be preserved by authorities subject to an obligation of transfer and the subsequent transfer of these records to public archives at a later stage, as well as which authority controls the transfer. The main conclusions are: Firstly, all records produced by and associated with the operation of entities subject to the obligation of transfer fall within the scope of the Act irrespective of their form or how they are produced unless special Acts lead to different conclusions. Secondly, all records should be preserved unless prescriptions and authorizations by the National Archives of Iceland or special Acts lead to different conclusions with respect to the preservation or disposal of the records. Thirdly, The National Archives of Iceland supervises compliance with the Act.

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