A
multidisciplinary group of lawyers, historians, and archivists working
under the auspices of the CNRS "Archives de la création"
program in conjunction with the "Centre d'étude sur la
coopération juridique internationale (CECOJI, Center for International
Law Studies) has examined the French legal framework regarding records.
Records
are defined as a set of documents of any date, form and medium, produced
or received by any physical or moral person or by any public or private
body in the course of their activities. The key characteristics of
records, namely, mode of production, content, and ownership, determine
how they can be made available.
The
French legal framework governing records is deceptively simple; there
is only one French law specific to records (January 3, 1979), which
defines and specifies the conditions of their availability, depending
on whether they are public or private documents. However, other more
general rules can apply to records since the information they contain
may have an effect on the rights of certain groups or persons. Examples
of such laws include: intellectual property laws, the section of the
Civil Code which deals with personal rights, and data protection laws.
The
group has highlighted the trouble spots caused by the overall lack
of cohesion of the laws governing records with a view to reforming
January 3, 1979 law, following action initiated in 1995 by the government,
arising out of concerns about restrictions on access to records, and
the records of persons holding public office. This reform has been
included in a larger process of adapting the French legal framework
to the "information" society.
