1. New challenges for archives in Iceland
Eiríkur G. Guðmundsson
National Archivist of Iceland

2. The Information Act – Innovations i
Objective
Guarantee transparency in government administration and the handling of public interests
Strengthen:
the right to information and the freedom of expression
The possibilities for the public to participate in a democratic society
the restraints exercised by the media and the public on government authorities
possibilities for the media to communicate information on public affairs
public confidence in government administration

3. The Information Act – Innovations ii
Scope
Applies to all government activities
Applies to all operations of legal entities which are 51% or more in public ownership
If the operations of a legal entity occur almost entirely in market competition, the minister may, decide that this entity shall not fall under the scope of this Act, and may also withdraw such a decision
Applies to private sector entities which have been assigned to supply public services
law applicable only to information related to said public services, and not to other aspects of their operation

4. The Information Act – Innovations iii
More open access
Government authorities shall at their own initiative provide the public with information on their activities
electronic reports, program summaries etc.
Government authorities shall act systematically towards making their informtaion / data electronically accessible
The minister shall submit regular reports to the Althing on the implementation of this Act,
The minister shall initiate a formation policy
In consultation with the public, the Union of Icelandic Journalists, the Association of Local Authorities, the public archives, the universities and the scientific community.

5. The Information Act – Innovations iv
Re-use
The purpose is to increase the re-use of public sector information, for the benefit of the society as a whole.
The re-use should follow harmonised criteria according to European rules, i.e.;
Decision No. 105/2005 of the EEA Joint Committee
the Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

6. The Information Act – Innovations v
Easier to request
Changes to the way access to material is requested
Before; the exact documents, and all the particular material requested, needed to be specified
Today; enough to identify the subject of the matter of interest
A government authority can deny a request if:
its handling time is assumed to take too long
strong indications that a request involves intentions of misuse
A government authority has the permission to give increased access
each authority is obligated to evaluate and assess whether to use that permission, or not

7. The Information Act – Innovations vi
Conditional access
Access to material exempted from the rights to information is now possible for research purposes, though with certain limitations and conditions.
In that way, permission can be granted to, for example scientists and researchers, to access information which otherwise would be closed.

8. The Information Act – Innovations vii
More demands on registration
Now, stricter demands for official agencies on the registering of information
In that respect, the National Archives has the new role of setting the rules on registering cases and case files
That is now written in the Archives Act, not the Information Act

9. The new Archives Act The Archives Act is about:
Role and function of the official archives (the National Archives and the regional municipal archives)
Role and function of the National Archives
making regluations for records management in agencies
set the standards for transfer of data
Access
Also identifies institutions obligated to transfer their documents and other data to the official archives

10. The new Archives Act
Very detailed, divided into 12 chapters, and has in all 50 paragraphs
twice as many as in the old law from 1985
The minister is allowed, or must to issue regulations on certain aspects of the law.
Starts a new era in the field of archiving in Iceland, with many innovations.
Strengthens the role and position of the archives.
Interim provision: Municipalities have three years to make their regional archives capable of managing preservation of documents and other data in accordance with the new law.

11. The new Archives Act – Changes i
Access
The rights of access to official archives much clearer
Greater than before; now it applies to all archival material, both paper and database information.
Regulations regarding time limits clearer
obligation to grant access to archives over 30 years old, if no other time limits apply
Other time limits for access:
50 years, church records and census material
80 years, sensitive personal information,
100 years, patient journals

12. The new Archives Act – Changes ii
Access, cont.
Conditioned access to sensitive data
usually only given to researchers
the main conditions are
no exposure of the information to a third party,
no contact with the subjects,
no copies can be made,
permission may be needed from Data Protection

13. The new Archives Act – Changes iii
The obligation of transfer
Clearer who is obligated to transfer records to official archives
all state and municipal agencies and institutions, administrative committees, private sector bodies which have been assigned public service roles, corporations which are 51% or more in public ownership
All agencies and institutions of the state and municipalities which do not have an regional archive, deliver to the National Archives
Among those is the Office of the President of Iceland, The Supreme Court.
The Althing is no longer required to transfer data

14. The new Archives Act – Changes iv
Fee collection/billing
Municipalities who transfer data to the National Archives have to pay for the services
The archives can collect fees for storage of documents which are younger than 30 years old, until they turn 30.
Records keeping and registration
Paragraphs on records management and record keeping are more detailed and precise

15. The new Archives Act – Changes v
Punishment and fines
Failing to fulfill archival responsibilities is now punishable. For example, a person can be fined or imprisoned for up to 3 years if he/she:
disregards obligation of transfer
does not organise case files according to the rules
does not take action against illegal access or changes of a document
destruction of a document without permission
violates codes of secrecy
violates terms of research access

16. The new Archives Act – Changes vi
Private archives
Accessioning private archives
An official archive is authorised to accept private documents for keeping, if they are considered to be of importance
The national archivist to initiate the forming of a national policy on collecting private archives, in cooperation with others
Right of appeal
A person who is refused access to material in the official archives, can appeal to an Information Committee