Law on the archival materials of The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

 

For the purposes of this Law, the archival materials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall comprise original and reproduced written, drawn, printed, photographed, filmed, phonographed, legibly machine or otherwise marked documentary material of a lasting value and of importance for science, culture and other societal needs.
The archival materials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter: the archival materials) shall be understood to mean the archival materials generated in the proceedings of:
1) Federal Assembly, President of the Republic, Federal Government, federal ministries, other federal agencies and federal organisations, Federal Court, Federal Public Prosecutor, Federal Constitutional Court, National Bank of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Army, military courts, military prosecutors’ offices, Military Legal Officer, Supreme Council of Defence; enterprises or other organisations entrusted under federal law with the exercise of public authorisations; public enterprises, public establishments and other organisations established pursuant to federal law, and international conferences organised by the agencies of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter: the federal agencies and organisations);
2) Central state agencies and establishments, central bodies of political parties and other organisations and professional and other organisations of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia;
3) Central political bodies of the national liberation movement, government and administrative agencies and other organisations of Yugoslavia existing in the course of the national liberation war;
4) Central political state agencies and establishments, socio-political organisations in the federation, establishments which have been performing operations of importance for the discharge of functions by the federation, communities established pursuant to federal law, social organisations and associations of citizens and their unions on federation level and self-management organisations and communities entrusted under federal law with the exercise of public authorisations, as well as inter-republic and international conferences organised by such agencies and organisations of Yugoslavia from the Second World War to the establishment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
5) Army of Serbia and army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia;
6) Units of the national liberation army and partisan detachments of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav People’s Army, and archival materials of a military character originating from the occupying forces and their collaborators in the Second World War;
7) Relevant federal agencies in charge of national defence and armed forces of Yugoslavia from the Second World war to the establishment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
8) Organisations of political, labour union and other forms of association towards pursuing activities in the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as well as political, cultural, scientific, public and other personalities whose activity is of concern to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, if such archival materials are entrusted to the competent federal agency or organisation in conformity with this Law.

For the purposes of this Law, the registry materials shall comprise all original or reproductive written, drawn, printed, photographed, filmed, phonographed, legibly machine or otherwise marked documentary materials and books, card files and other records about such materials, from which archival materials have not been picked out (hereinafter: the registry materials).

The archival materials and registry materials originating from the proceedings of federal agencies and organisations and other parties referred to in Article 1 of this Law shall be kept as entities (archival stocks), the parts of which may not be singled out.

The archival materials shall be registered, collected, taken over, put in order, processed, published, studied and cared for by the competent federal agency which shall also provide conditions for their being used.

The archival materials and registry materials shall be the property of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The archival materials shall make up a good of general concern.

The registry materials shall be kept safe from damage, and destruction and they may not be transferred before the archival materials are extracted from them.

The archival materials and registry materials shall be kept out of circulation, except in the cases determined by this Law.

The archival materials and registry materials may be taken abroad under the conditions determined by this Law and other federal regulations.

The persons on the staff of the competent federal agency or organisation who handle the archival materials shall not buy, receive as gift or acquisition the archival materials in some other way for themselves or other persons.

The federal agencies and organisations in the proceedings of which the archival and registry materials are generated shall do the following in the prescribed manner:
1) Mark and date the registry materials and keep a record of them;
2) Classify the registry materials and do their current archiving;
3) Keep the registry materials in an orderly and safe state;
4) Pick out the archival materials from the registry materials and set aside the worthless registry materials;
5) Make inventories of the archival and registry materials;
6) Keep the archival materials safe from damage, going missing and destruction pending their handing over to the competent federal agency or organisation;
7) Present data and information to the competent federal agency or organisation for the purpose of keeping them informed about the archival materials;
8) Hand over the archival materials to the competent federal agency or organisation under the conditions and within the terms determined by this Law.
Federal agencies and organisations shall notify the competent federal agency or organisation of any change of status of the archival and registry materials at their disposal.
The provisions of paragraph 1, items 1) through 7), of this Article shall also apply to the organisations of political, labour union and other association towards pursuing activities in the territory of the FR of Yugoslavia.

Federal agencies and organisations shall pick out the archival materials from the registry materials generated in their proceedings or in their possession.
The picking out of the archival materials referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be done on the basis of the lists of categories of the registry materials, which have to be kept over the periods which have to be set by themselves in the prescribed way.

The picking out of the archival materials from the registry materials shall be carried out by the federal agencies and organisations holding such materials, upon the expiration of the periods for which the various categories of the registry materials have to be kept, in conformity with the list of categories of the registry materials, for the periods referred to in Article 11 of this Law.
Federal agencies and organisations shall set aside any worthless registry materials for the purpose of having them destroyed, within a year from the expiration of the keeping period set in the list of categories of the registry materials, with periods of keeping.

Federal agencies and organisations shall pick out the archival materials by extracting from the registry materials the parts that are of no importance for current proceedings, science, culture and other social needs.
Federal agencies and organisations shall keep a record of the extracted parts of the registry materials.
The extracted parts of the registry materials may not be transferred or destroyed before the competent federal agency or organisation establishes whether such material includes also any archival material or not.

 Once they have put in order and made an inventory of the archival materials generated in their proceedings or being in their possession, the federal agencies and organisations shall hand that materials over to the competent federal agency or organisation in the prescribed manner and in accordance with the prescribed schedule when the latter become accessible to users in conformity with this Law, but not later than 30 or 50 years from the date of their generation.
The archive materials, as well as the registry materials, whose period of keeping has not expired and which have been generated by or were in the possession of the federal agencies and organisations which have ceased to operate, shall be handed over to the competent federal agency or organisation, unless it is decided for them to be taken over by some other agency or organisation.

 The archival materials shall be kept safe from damage, destruction and going missing by applying the prescribed measures relating to the housing and technical and technological protection and security.

 The archival materials shall be completed on the basis of purchase, donation, bequest, research and recording in the country and abroad.

 If any archival materials generated in the proceedings of the organisations of political, labour union and other association for operation in the territory of the FRY, as well as by political, cultural, scientific, public and other personalities whose activity is of concern to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, have not been entrusted to the competent federal agency or organisation and are offered for sale, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall have the right of pre-emption on equal terms.
 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall also have the right of pre-emption if the archival materials referred to in Article 1, paragraph 2, items 2) through 7), of this Law are offered for sale.

 The competent federal agency or organisation shall keep a record in the prescribed manner of the federal agencies and organisations in whose proceedings the archival materials are generated, holders of the archival materials, the archival materials, stocks and collections, recorded and collected archival materials from foreign archives and publications and information media of importance for the history of Yugoslavia.

 The archival materials shall be processed and information media relating to archival materials be prepared by applying the single prescribed standards and methods.

 The archival materials may be used towards satisfying the science research, technical and other needs of legal entities and individuals, as well as towards realisation of the functions of federal agencies and organisations.

 For the purposes of Article 20 of this Law, the archival materials shall be made accessible to users upon the expiration of the periods set by the federal agencies and organisations in whose proceedings they have been generated or which are holding them, and such periods may not be longer than 30 years from the year of their generation, or 50 years if so determined by a special federal regulation.
 The archival materials may be used under the prescribed conditions and in the prescribed manner.
 Any user failing to abide by the provision of paragraph 2 of this Article shall be deprived of the right to use the archival materials.

 The archival materials may be taken abroad on a temporary basis and in the prescribed manner subject to the approval of the competent federal agency or organisation

 The competent federal agency or organisation shall supervise the implementation of this Law.
In the exercise of supervision, the authorised person shall do the following:
1) Inspect the state of the registry and archival materials and check whether all duties determined by this Law and other federal regulations are being performed, for the purpose of establishing facts and circumstances of importance for the exercise of supervision;
2) Take statements from officials responsible for the archival and registry materials;
3) Recommend the application of preventive and other measures for the purpose of protecting the registry and archival materials.

 Should it be found that in handling the registry and archival materials, a federal agency or organisation is not acting in conformity with this Law and other federal regulations, the authorised person shall do the following:
1) Order that measures be applied and action taken towards eliminating the established irregularities or defects within a term set by him;
2) Request from the federal agencies and organisations to be supplied with the necessary documents and data within a term set by him;
3) File with the competent agency an application for the institution of criminal proceedings;
4) File with the competent agency an application for the magistrate’s court action.

 The authorised person shall compile a report on any supervision carried out.
 A copy of the report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be forwarded to the federal agency or organisation in which supervision was carried out.

 A complaint concerning the facts presented in the report may be filed with the competent federal agency or organisation.
 The competent federal agency or organisation shall consider the assertions laid down in the complaint referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and notify the complaint filing party of its position.

 The person authorised for the exercise of supervision, who is properly qualified for the protection of the archival materials, shall have a prescribed official identity card.

  Federal agencies and organisations shall provide for and exercise special care of the archival and registry materials in the event of a state of war, threat of immediate war hazard or state of emergency.

  Federal agencies and organisations shall determine in conformity with their duties laid down in the national defence plan, the measures for timely preparation and protection of the archival and registry materials in the event of a state of war, immediate hazard of war or state of emergency.

 Anybody who usurps, conceals, grossly damages, destroys or makes useless in some other way the archival or registry materials or takes them abroad without prior approval of the competent federal agency or organisation, or makes it possible for somebody else to do so, shall be punished for felony by 3 months to five years of imprisonment.

 Any enterprise or other legal entity shall be fined 10,000 to 100,000 new dinars for offence in the following cases:
1) If it fails to mark, date and keep a record of the registry materials, or classify and archive the registry materials, or keep the registry materials in an orderly and safe state, or select the archival materials and registry materials, or keep the archival materials safe from damage, destruction and going missing pending their hand-over to the competent federal agency or organisation, or forward data and information to the federal agency or organisation for the purpose of keeping them informed about the archival materials, hand over the archival materials to the competent federal agency or organisation under the conditions and within the terms determined by this Law, or inform the competent federal agency or organisation of any change to the state of the archival materials and registry materials at its disposal, or does so disorderly (Article 20);
2) If it fails to determine the list of categories of the registry materials, with keeping periods (Article 11);
3) If it does not make it possible for the person authorised for supervision to inspect the state of the registry materials and archival materials, for the purpose of establishing the facts and circumstances of importance for the exercise of supervision and to take statements from the official persons responsible for the archival materials and registry materials (Article 24).
In case of any act referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the responsible person in the enterprise or other legal entity shall also be fined 900 to 9,000 new dinars for offence.
In case of any act referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the responsible person in the competent federal organisation shall also be fined 900 to 9,000 dinars for offence.

If any person on the staff of the competent federal agency or organisation who handles the archival materials is found to have bought, acquired as a gift or obtained the archival materials in some other way, for himself or for some other person, shall be fined 900 to 9,000 new dinars for offence (Article 9).
The archival materials constituting the subject matter of the offence referred to in paragraph 1 shall be confiscated.

 The associations of citizens and other legal entities holding the archival materials generated in the proceedings of social organisations and associations of citizens and their unions on a federal level (Article 1, paragraph 2, item 4, of this Law) shall hand such archival materials over to the competent federal agency or organisation within a term mutually agreed upon, but not later than five years from the effective date of this Law.

 The regulations necessary for the enforcement of this Law shall be enacted within six months from the effective date of this Law.

 This Law shall supersede on its effective date the Law on the Federation Archive Materials (Slu`beni list SFRY).
 
 CORRECTION OF THE LAW ON THE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

1. In Article 2, the word “reproductive” shall be replaced with the word “reproduced”.
2. In Article 32, paragraph 1, item 1), the words “materials and registry” shall be replaced by the words “materials from the registry”
 3. In Article 32, paragraph 1, item 1), the words “materials and the registry” shall be replaced with the words “materials from the registry”, and the word “materials” shall be followed by the words “to take an inventory of the archival and registry materials”. At the end of the same paragraph, the words “(Article 20)” shall be replaced with the words “(Article 10)”.

From the Legislative Affairs Sector of the Federal Assembly, Belgrade, 13 March 1998.

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