Heritage and collections: status and movements · France / Switzerland
Public archives: appraisal, transfer and disposal record
Public-records processing identifies the producer and records series before assessing retention, appraisal and final disposition. France’s public-archive rules must be distinguished from Swiss federal archival law and separate cantonal frameworks. Assemble the retention schedule, competent archive decision, transfer lists and required formats. Link disposal to specific authority and execution evidence. A scan, an elapsed period or an access request does not itself authorise destruction of public records.
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Who determines archival value and approves retention?
France: L212-2 requires archival selection and agreement rather than a unilateral space-saving decision. Switzerland: Federal Archives assess archival value with covered services under BGA Article 7; local records need their own framework.
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Which public producer and records series fall within the archival framework?
France: identify public producer, record series and medium before selecting retention rules. Switzerland: determine federal or cantonal scope first; the Federal Archiving Act does not govern every public record held in a canton.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Records-series appraisal and disposition register
Synthetic example: fictional records. Records-series appraisal and disposition register.
Synthetic example: fictional records · Records-series appraisal and disposition register
- Jurisdiction
- France
- Producer and series
- Service P1, series S1
- Retention and trigger
- Schedule T1, event E1
- Authority and decision
- Archive A1, decision D1
- Transfer or disposal
- List V1, execution evidence R1
A scan, an elapsed period or an access request does not itself authorise destruction of public records.
Who determines archival value and approves retention?
France: L212-2 requires archival selection and agreement rather than a unilateral space-saving decision. Switzerland: Federal Archives assess archival value with covered services under BGA Article 7; local records need their own framework.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Which official provision helps explain this situation?
Public-records processing identifies the producer and records series before assessing retention, appraisal and final disposition. France’s public-archive rules must be distinguished from Swiss federal archival law and separate cantonal frameworks. Assemble the retention schedule, competent archive decision, transfer lists and required formats. Link disposal to specific authority and execution evidence. A scan, an elapsed period or an access request does not itself authorise destruction of public records.
Which records must be offered to the competent archive?
France: retain the schedule, series description and proposal to the competent archives service. Switzerland: BGA Article 6 governs offers from covered services, with its scope conditions; copying files elsewhere is not an accepted transfer.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Preparation reference: Records-series appraisal and disposition register
| Preparation question | Point to verify |
|---|---|
| Which public producer and records series fall within the archival framework? | France: identify public producer, record series and medium before selecting retention rules. Switzerland: determine federal or cantonal scope first; the Federal Archiving Act does not govern every public record held in a canton. |
| Who determines archival value and approves retention? | France: L212-2 requires archival selection and agreement rather than a unilateral space-saving decision. Switzerland: Federal Archives assess archival value with covered services under BGA Article 7; local records need their own framework. |
| Which records must be offered to the competent archive? | France: retain the schedule, series description and proposal to the competent archives service. Switzerland: BGA Article 6 governs offers from covered services, with its scope conditions; copying files elsewhere is not an accepted transfer. |
| What retention period and trigger are documented? | France: connect duration and triggering event to the documented series. Switzerland: identify the relevant federal or cantonal schedule and event; a creation date alone does not establish every retention endpoint or disposal right. |
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
What retention period and trigger are documented?
France: connect duration and triggering event to the documented series. Switzerland: identify the relevant federal or cantonal schedule and event; a creation date alone does not establish every retention endpoint or disposal right.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Which lists, formats and metadata accompany transfer?
France: prepare transfer lists, formats and descriptive metadata for the receiving service. Switzerland: follow the relevant archives’ actual requirements; a copied folder does not prove acceptance or completion of an archival transfer.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
What authority permits disposal rather than permanent preservation?
France: L212-2 and L212-3 do not make expired periods or personal-data status automatic disposal permission. Switzerland: BGA Article 8 separately controls destruction of offered records; identify the actual approval and its scope.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
How are decisions and execution evidence retained?
France: link the decision, covered series and execution evidence. Switzerland: retain the equivalent approval and treatment record; permission affecting one series does not demonstrate lawful destruction of every file in a mixed folder.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Why do scanning, expiry or access requests not automatically permit destruction?
France: scanning, elapsed time and access requests do not themselves authorise destruction. Switzerland: preserve the same distinction within the applicable framework; this tool prepares decision records rather than deleting or transferring actual archives.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
What other questions arise in this file?
Who determines archival value and approves retention?
France: L212-2 requires archival selection and agreement rather than a unilateral space-saving decision. Switzerland: Federal Archives assess archival value with covered services under BGA Article 7; local records need their own framework.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
What retention period and trigger are documented?
France: connect duration and triggering event to the documented series. Switzerland: identify the relevant federal or cantonal schedule and event; a creation date alone does not establish every retention endpoint or disposal right.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
What authority permits disposal rather than permanent preservation?
France: L212-2 and L212-3 do not make expired periods or personal-data status automatic disposal permission. Switzerland: BGA Article 8 separately controls destruction of offered records; identify the actual approval and its scope.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Why do scanning, expiry or access requests not automatically permit destruction?
France: scanning, elapsed time and access requests do not themselves authorise destruction. Switzerland: preserve the same distinction within the applicable framework; this tool prepares decision records rather than deleting or transferring actual archives.
Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedure
Which official references should you consult?
- Code du patrimoine : L212-2, L212-3www.legifrance.gouv.fr
- LAr / BGA / LAr : 1, 6, 7, 8www.fedlex.admin.ch
- Swiss Federal Archives transfer procedurewww.bar.admin.ch
Texts cited last checked: 3 November 2026