Archives Law of the People's Republic of China
(Adopted at the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 5, 1987, the first amendment was made in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Archives Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on July 5, 1996, and the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 7, 2016Decision of the 24th Session of the Standing Committee on Amending 12 Laws including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China Revised at the 19th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on June 20, 2020
目 录
Chapter I General provisions
Chapter II Archival institutions and their duties
Chapter III Management of archives
Chapter IV Utilization and publication of archives
Chapter V archives information construction
Chapter VI Supervision and inspection
Chapter VII Legal liability
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of strengthening the administration of archives, standardizing the collection and collation of archives, effectively protecting and utilizing archives, raising the level of archival information construction, promoting the modernization of the national governance system and capacity, and serving the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics。
Article 2 This Law shall apply to the collection, sorting, protection, utilization and supervision and administration of archives。
Archives referred to in this Law，It refers to the historical records in various forms, such as characters, diagrams, sounds and images, which are directly formed by the past and present state organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions, other organizations and individuals engaged in economic, political, cultural, social, ecological civilization, military, foreign affairs, science and technology and other fields and are of preservation value to the state and society。
Article 3 Uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China over archives work。People's governments at all levels shall strengthen archival work, incorporate archival undertakings into the national economic and social development plans, and include funds for the development of archival undertakings in the government budget to ensure that the development of archival undertakings is commensurate with the level of national economic and social development。
Article 4 The principle of unified leadership and hierarchical management shall be applied to archive work, so as to maintain the integrity and security of archives and facilitate the utilization of all aspects of society。
Article 5 All state organs, armed forces, political parties, organizations, enterprises, institutions and citizens shall have the obligation to protect archives and enjoy the right to use archives in accordance with law。
Article 6 The State encourages and supports archival scientific research and technological innovation, promotes the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements in the collection, sorting, protection and utilization of archives, and promotes the progress of archival science and technology。
The State shall take measures to strengthen the publicity and education of archives and enhance the awareness of archives in the whole society。
The State encourages and supports international exchanges and cooperation in the field of archives。
Article 7 The State encourages social forces to participate in and support the development of archives。
Units and individuals that have made outstanding contributions in the collection, sorting, protection and utilization of archives shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Chapter II Archival institutions and their duties
Article 8 The competent state archives department shall be in charge of archives work throughout the country, responsible for overall planning, organization and coordination of archives undertakings throughout the country, establishing a unified system, and exercising supervision and guidance。
Local archival departments at or above the county level shall be in charge of the archival work within their respective administrative areas, and shall supervise and guide the archival work of organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations within their respective administrative areas。
The people's governments of townships and towns shall designate personnel to be responsible for the management of the archives of their own organs, and supervise and guide the archives work of their affiliated units and grassroots mass self-governing organizations。
Article 9 State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall appoint archival institutions or archival staff to be responsible for the management of the archives of their own units, and exercise supervision and guidance over the archival work of their subordinate units。
According to the needs of archives management, the central state organ shall guide the archives business work of the system within the scope of its duties。
Article 10 Archives of all kinds at the central and local levels above the county level shall be cultural institutions that centrally manage archives and shall be responsible for collecting, sorting out, preserving and making available the archives within the scope of their respective jurisdiction。
Article 11 The State shall strengthen personnel training and team building for archival work and improve the professional quality of archival staff。
Archival personnel shall be loyal to their duties, abide by discipline and law, and possess corresponding professional knowledge and skills, among which archival professionals may be assessed for professional and technical titles in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Chapter III Management of archives
Article 12 State organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations that should form archives in accordance with the provisions of the State shall establish a responsibility system for archives work and improve the archives management system according to law。
Article 13 The following materials directly formed and of preservation value to the state and society shall be included in the scope of archiving:
(1) reflecting the evolution and main functional activities of organs and organizations;
(2) reflect the main research and development, construction, production, management and service activities of state-owned enterprises and institutions, and safeguard the rights and interests of state-owned enterprises and institutions and the rights and interests of employees;
(3) reflecting the urban and rural community governance and service activities of grassroots mass autonomous organizations;
(4) reflecting state governance activities, economic, scientific and technological development, social and historical features, cultural customs, and ecological environment in various historical periods;
(5) those that shall be filed as required by laws and administrative regulations。
Non-state-owned enterprises, social service agencies and other units shall keep relevant materials of their own units in accordance with the scope listed in Item 2 of the preceding paragraph。
Article 14 The materials that should be archived shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, be regularly handed over to the archival organs or archival staff of the units concerned for centralized management. No individual may refuse to archive or keep them as his own。
The archiving of materials that are not allowed to be archived as prescribed by the State shall be prohibited without authorization。
Article 15 State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, transfer archives to the archives archives on a regular basis, and the archives archives may not refuse to receive them。
Where the archives are submitted to the archives for safekeeping in advance with the consent of the archives archives, the matters related to the disclosure of government information in the archives shall still be handled by the units that originally produced or stored the government information before the expiration of the transfer period prescribed by the State。At the end of the transfer period, the archives related to the disclosure of government information shall be handled in accordance with the provisions on the utilization of archives。
Article 16 State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall transfer archives to the relevant units or archives archives in accordance with relevant regulations when their structures are changed, abolished or merged。
Article 17 Archives archives may, in addition to receiving and transferring archives in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, collect archives by accepting donations, purchasing, depositing and other means。
Article 18 Where cultural relics and documentary information kept by museums, libraries, memorial halls and other units are also archives, they may be managed by such units on their own in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations。
Archives archives and the units listed in the preceding paragraph shall cooperate with each other in the utilization of archives, and may exchange duplicates, copies or catalogues with each other, jointly organize exhibitions, and jointly study, edit and publish relevant historical materials。
Article 19 Archives and archives institutions of state organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall establish a scientific management system，Facilitate the use of archives;Warehouses and necessary facilities and equipment suitable for archival preservation shall be allocated in accordance with relevant state regulations，Ensure the security of files;Adopt advanced technology，Realize the modernization of archives management。
Archives and government organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall establish and improve the working mechanism of archive security, strengthen the management of archive security risks, and improve the emergency response capacity of archive security。
Article 20 The management and utilization of archives involving state secrets, the change of classification and the declassification shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the laws and administrative regulations on guarding state secrets。
Article 21 The principles for appraising the preservation value of archives, the standards for the storage period and the procedures and methods for destroying archives shall be formulated by the competent archives department of the State。
It is prohibited to tamper with, destroy or forge archives。Unauthorized destruction of archives is prohibited。
Article 22 Where the archives formed by non-state-owned enterprises, social service organizations and other units or individuals are of important preservation value to the state and society or should be kept confidential, the owners of the archives shall keep them properly。If the storage conditions do not meet the requirements or there are other reasons that may lead to serious damage and insecurity of the archives, the archives department at or above the provincial level may give help, or take measures to ensure the integrity and security of the archives such as appointing the archives for safekeeping through consultation;When necessary, it may be purchased or requisitioned according to law。
The owner of the archives listed in the preceding paragraph may deposit or transfer them to the State archives。It is strictly prohibited to sell or give to foreigners or foreign organizations。
Those who contribute important and precious archives to the State shall be rewarded by the State archives in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Article 23 It is forbidden to buy or sell archives owned by the State。
When transferring assets of state-owned enterprises and institutions, specific measures for the transfer of relevant archives shall be formulated by the competent archives department of the State。
The exchange and transfer of copies of archives shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Article 24 Archives, government organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations that entrust services such as archival sorting, storage, development, utilization and digitization shall sign entrustment agreements with qualified archival service enterprises, stipulating the scope, quality and technical standards of the services, and supervising the entrusted party。
The entrusted party shall establish an archival service management system, abide by the relevant security and confidentiality provisions, and ensure the safety of the archives。
Article 25 The archives owned by the State and the archives provided for in Article 22 of this Law and their copies shall be prohibited from being transported, mailed, carried out or transmitted out of China through the Internet without authorization。If it is really necessary to leave the country, the examination and approval procedures shall be completed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Article 26 The competent department of national archives shall establish and improve the working mechanism for collecting, sorting, protecting and utilizing archives related to emergency response activities。
Archives shall strengthen the research, collation, development and utilization of archives related to emergency response activities, so as to provide literature reference and decision support for emergency response activities。
Chapter IV Utilization and publication of archives
Article 27 Archives in archives at or above the county level shall be opened to the public at least 25 years from the date of formation。Economic, educational, scientific and technological, cultural and other archives may be opened to the public for less than 25 years;Related to national security or major interests and other archives that should not be opened when they expire may be opened to the public for more than 25 years。The State encourages and supports other archives to open their archives to the public。Specific measures for the opening of archives shall be formulated by the competent state archives department and submitted to The State Council for approval。
Article 28 Archives shall, through their websites or other means, regularly publish the catalogues of open archives, constantly improve the rules for utilization, innovate the forms of service, strengthen the functions of service, improve the level of service, actively create conditions for the utilization of archives, simplify procedures and provide convenience。
Units and individuals holding legal certificates may make use of archives that have been opened。Where archives are not opened for use in accordance with regulations, units and individuals may lodge complaints with archives competent authorities, which shall promptly investigate and handle the complaints and inform the complainants of the results。
Where the use of archives involves intellectual property rights and personal information, the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations shall be observed。
Article 29 State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions, other organizations and citizens may, in light of the needs of economic construction, national defense construction, teaching and scientific research and other work, make use of the archives not opened in archives and the archives kept by relevant state organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State。
Article 30 The archives archives shall be jointly responsible for the review of the opening of archives in their collections and the units that form or transfer the archives。The archives that have not yet been transferred into the library shall be examined and opened by the unit that formed the archives or the unit that kept them, and opinions shall be attached at the time of transfer。
Article 31 Units and individuals that transfer, donate or deposit archives to the archives archives may give priority to the use of the archives and may propose restrictions on the use of those parts of the archives that are not suitable for public access, and the archives archives shall provide support and convenience。
Article 32 Archives owned by the State shall be published by archives authorized by the State or by relevant organs;No unit or individual shall have the right to publish it without the consent of the archives or the relevant authorities。The owner of the archives formed by non-state-owned enterprises, social service agencies and other units or individuals shall have the right to publish them。
The publication of archives shall comply with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, and shall not harm the security and interests of the State or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of others。
Article 33 Archives shall, according to their own conditions, provide support and convenience for state organs in formulating laws, regulations and policies and conducting research on relevant issues。
Archives shall be staffed with researchers, strengthen the study and sorting of archives, organize, edit and publish archival materials in a planned way, and distribute them in different areas。
Archival researchers shall abide by the provisions on archival management when studying and sorting out archives。
Article 34 The State encourages archives archives to develop and utilize archives in their collections，Through special exhibitions, public lectures, media publicity and other activities，Education in patriotism, collectivism and socialism with Chinese characteristics，Carry forward and develop fine traditional Chinese culture，Inherit revolutionary culture，Develop an advanced socialist culture，Enhance cultural confidence，Promote core socialist values。
Chapter V archives information construction
Article 35 People's governments at all levels shall incorporate archival informatization into their informationization development plans, and ensure the safe preservation and effective utilization of archival digital resources such as electronic archives and traditional carrier archival digitization achievements。
Archives and government organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall strengthen the construction of archival information and take measures to ensure the security of archival information。
Article 36 Organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall actively promote the construction of electronic file management information systems, and connect with office automation systems and business systems。
Article 37 Electronic archives shall have reliable sources, standardized procedures and compliant elements。
The electronic file has the same effect as the traditional carrier file and can be used as a certificate in electronic form。
Measures for the administration of electronic archives shall be formulated by the state archives department in conjunction with other departments concerned。
Article 38 The State encourages and supports archives and government organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations to promote the digitization of traditional carrier archives。Where digitization has been achieved, the original files shall be kept properly。
Article 39 Electronic archives shall be transferred to archives through networks or storage media that meet the requirements for security management。
Archives shall test the received electronic archives to ensure the authenticity, integrity, availability and security of the electronic archives。
Archives can backup and keep important electronic files in other places。
Article 40 Archives shall be responsible for the collection, preservation, provision and utilization of archival digital resources。Archives where conditions permit shall build digital archives。
Article 41 The State promotes the construction of a service platform for sharing archival information resources, and promotes the sharing and utilization of archival digital resources across regions and departments。
Chapter VI Supervision and inspection
Article 42 The archives competent department may, in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on archives management, inspect the following information about archives and organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations:
(a) archives work responsibility system and management system implementation;
(2) the configuration and use of archival warehouses, facilities and equipment;
(3) Management of archival staff;
(4) the collection, sorting, storage, provision and utilization of archives;
(5) Information construction and information security of archives;
(6) The supervision and guidance of the archives work of the affiliated units。
Article 43 When the archives department conducts inspections based on illegal clues, on the premise of meeting the security and confidentiality requirements, it may inspect the relevant warehouses, facilities and equipment, consult the relevant materials, question the relevant personnel and record the relevant information, and the relevant units and individuals shall cooperate。
Article 44 Archives and organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations find that there is a hidden danger of archive security, shall promptly take remedial measures to eliminate the hidden danger of archive security。In case of file damage or information leakage, such cases shall be reported to the archives department in a timely manner。
Article 45 Where the archives competent department finds that archives and organs, organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations have hidden archive security risks, it shall order rectification within a time limit to eliminate hidden archive security risks。
Article 46 Any unit or individual shall have the right to report violations of archives to the archives competent department and relevant authorities。
The department in charge of archives or the relevant organ that receives the report shall deal with it in a timely manner according to law。
Article 47 Archives authorities and their staff shall carry out supervision and inspection work in accordance with the functions and powers prescribed by law and procedures, be scientific, fair, strict and efficient, shall not use their functions and powers to seek profits, and shall not disclose state secrets, commercial secrets or personal privacy that they have come to know in the course of performing their duties。
Chapter VII Legal liability
Article 48 If a unit or individual commits any of the following acts, the archives administrative departments and relevant authorities at or above the county level shall impose sanctions on the persons in charge directly responsible and other persons directly responsible according to law:
(1) Losing archives owned by the State;
(2) providing, copying, reproducing or publicizing state owned archives without authorization;
(3) buying, selling or illegally transferring archives owned by the State;
(4) tampering with, destroying or forging archives or destroying archives without authorization;
(5) selling or giving away archives to foreigners or foreign organizations;
(6) failing to file in accordance with regulations or failing to hand over archives on time, and refusing to make corrections when ordered to do so;
(7) failing to open or provide archives for use to the public in accordance with regulations;
(8) knowing the existence of hidden file security risks and failing to take remedial measures, resulting in damage to or loss of archives, or being ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit for the existence of hidden file security risks and failing to rectify within the prescribed time limit;
(9) failing to take rescue measures or concealing failure to report or refusing to investigate after a file security accident occurs;
(10) Archives personnel neglect their duties, causing damage to or loss of archives。
Article 49 Whoever commits any of the illegal acts mentioned in Items 1, 2 or 4 of Article 48 of this Law by using the archives in the archives archives shall be given a warning by the archival authorities at or above the county level, and a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed on the unit and not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan shall be imposed on the individual。
Where an archival service enterprise commits any of the illegal acts in items 1, 2 and 4 of Article 48 of this Law in the course of providing services, the archival authorities at or above the county level shall give a warning and impose a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan。
Any unit or individual committing any of the illegal acts in Item 3 or Item 5 of Article 48 of this Law，The archives department at or above the county level shall give a warning，Confiscation of illegal gains，A fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed on the unit，Imposing on an individual a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan;The archives sold or given as gifts may be purchased in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of this Law。
Article 50 Violation of the provisions of this Law，Transporting, mailing, carrying or transmitting via the Internet, without authorization, archives or copies of which are prohibited from leaving the country，The Customs or relevant departments shall confiscate and block the transmission，A fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed on the unit，Imposing on an individual a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan;And shall confiscate, block the transmission of files or their copies to the archives department。
Article 51 Whoever violates the provisions of this Law and constitutes a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law;Those who cause property losses or other damages shall bear civil liability according to law。
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 52 The archives of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Chinese People's Armed Police Forces shall be administered by the Central Military Commission in accordance with this Law。
Article 53 This Law shall come into force as of January 1, 2021。
Link to original article: http://www.saac.gov.cn/daj/falv/202006/79ca4f151fde470c996bec0d50601505.shtml
