Law on the National Archival Fonds

LAW ON THE NATIONAL ARCHIVAL FONDS Promulgated by State Gazette, issue 57 dated 13 July 2007 Chapter I General principles Art. 1. This law shall arrange the formation, preservation and use of the National Archival Fonds of the Republic of Bulgaria; and the organization, the management and the activity of the Archives. Art. 2. The National Archival Fonds shall be created to provide with documental information the government of the state, the development of the sciences and of the culture and the protection of the rights and legal interests of the citizens. Art. 3. The National Archival Fonds shall be a permanently accretive totality of valuable records covering the material and spiritual life of the society. Art. 4. (1) The National Archival Fonds shall be completed by: 1. records, identified to be permanently kept, created by the activity of the public and municipal institutions and other juridical and physical persons, independently on the time, the carrier and the way of creation, the place of preservation and the form of property; 2. records or copies of records about the history of Bulgaria, received from foreign Archives or foreign juridical and/or physical persons; (2) records under § 1 shall enter the Register of the National Archival Fonds. Art. 5. The Archives shall be organizations or structural branches of organizations which fulfill selection, acquisition, processing and preservation of records and provide them for public use. Art. 6. (1) Archives, which keep records of the National Archival Fonds shall be: 1. state archives; 2. archives and archival collections of cultural and other public institutions; 3. archival collections of state and municipal museums and libraries;

1 4. archival collections of library clubs and religious institutions; 5. private archives. (2) records from the Archives under paragraph 1, point 1 shall be kept observing the principle of provenance and provided unity and integrity of the archival fonds. Art. 7. (1) The State shall take care of the preservation of the National Archival Fonds’ records via: 1. registering and accounting their presence; 2. ensuring their storage in modernly equipped premises; restoration and conservation labs and security copying; 3. ensuring qualified staff to work with; 4. budgetary funding; (2) The State shall take care of the preservation of records which were entered the Register of the National Archival Fonds and are property of physical persons; (3) The State shall take care of the preservation of the records which were entered in the Register of the National Archival Fonds and are outside the territory of the country, on the territory of another country, respecting its internal legislation, as well as the entered into force international agreements Bulgaria is party of. Art. 8. (1) The records in the Archives under Art. 6, § 1 shall be state property, respectively municipal property and cannot be subject of dealing with. (2) In the case of deals with records - private property, written in the Register of the National Archival Fonds, their owners shall notify the Archives State Agency within one month before the deal about the forthcoming change of property. The state shall have the right first to offer through the Archives State Agency’s chairperson the acquisition of these records at equal other conditions within one month after the notifying. (3) The records in the Archives under § 1 and 2 cannot be exported outside the country without the authorization of the chairperson of Archives State Agency. (4) The terms and the order of temporary export of records under § 1 and 2 shall be established by the Regulations under Art. 91.

2 Art. 9. (1) The records of the National Archival Fonds in the Archives under Art. 6 § 1 shall be kept, processed and used according to the provisions of this law. (2) The terms and the order of preservation, storage, access and use of the valuable electronic records in the State Archives shall be established by Regulations adopted by the Council of Ministers on a motion of the Minister of State Administration and Administrative Reform in concordance with the chairperson of Archives State Agency. Art. 10. The Archives shall provide for the users public access to the records they keep by creating and maintaining in regard of this a system of finding aids. Chapter two Management of the National Archival Fonds Section I Archives State Agency Art. 11. (1) The Governmental policy in the field of selection, acquisition, registering, processing, preservation, storage and use of the records of the National Archival Fonds, as well as in the field of development and improvement of the archival deed shall be carried out by the Archives State Agency. (2) The Archives State Agency shall supervise the preservation of the records in the registry offices of the state and municipal institutions and shall fulfill scientific and methodical guidance and control over the organization of the work with the records, their preservation and use in the establishments’ Archives. (3) The orders and the instructions of the Archives State Agency’s bodies concerning the records of the National Archival Fonds shall be obligatory for all organisations. (4) Archives State Agency shall create and maintain the Register of the National Archival Fonds in electronic form and shall maintain the information system of the Archives. (5) Archives State Agency shall fulfill publishing, shall cooperate with foreign akin establishments, institutions and international organizations and shall be member of the International Council on Archives. Art. 12. (1) Archives State Agency shall be created at the Council of Ministers and shall be a juridical person on budgetary funding which head office shall be settled in Sofia.

3 (2) Archives State Agency shall be led and represented by Chairperson who shall be appointed by decision of the Council of Ministers. (3) When fulfilling his duties the chairperson of the Archives State Agency shall be helped by vice chairpersons. Art. 13. The chairperson of the Archives State Agency shall: 1. carry out the general governance, coordination and control over the activity on acquisition, accounting and preservation of the records under Art. 6 § 1 independently on their place of storage and shall organize the work with them; 2. issue methodical guidelines and instructions and shall fulfill the implementation of the archival standards within his/her competences; 3. define the criteria of appraisal the value of records including the electronic ones and shall identify the records for permanent storage; 4. approve the proposed periods of temporary storage for the records in the state and municipal institutions until their transfer to the State Archives according to the filing plan and the lists of records’ types other than these stipulated by law; 5. supervise the elaboration of filing plans and lists of records with periods of storage in the state and municipal institutions; 6. keep account of the records of the National Archival Fonds, as well as a special report on the vital valuable and unique records and the records in risk; 7. organize the activity on records’ preservation, the control over the fonds’ availability, the restoration, conservation and creation of security fonds, as well as of fonds of digitized copies; 8. draw up acts and shall issue penal sanctions in the cases foreseen by the law and shall delegate other officials of the Archives State Agency to do this; 9. guarantee the elaboration of finding aids on the composition and the contents of the National Archival Fonds; 10. establish the rules of use for the records kept in the Archives and shall provide public access to them;

4 11. represent the State when acquiring records or their copies through legal deals and shall delegate the State Archives’ directors to accomplish such deals; 12. organize and shall fulfill scientific and research activities on document science, archival science and other akin sciences; 13. conclude international agreements with foreign partners and shall carry out the international cooperation in the field of archival deed; 14. determine the composition, the tasks and the rules of work of the Central Expert Checkup Committee, the Central Expert Assessment Committee and the appropriate expert committees in the State Archives; 15. create other committees and working groups when necessary to resolve specific problems of the theory and practice of the archival deed; 16. fulfill other mandates assigned by law or by Council of Ministers’ act; 17. coordinate the activities of the State Archives fulfilled under this law. Art. 14. The structure of Archives State Agency shall be established in organization statute adopted by the Council of Ministers. Art. 15. (1) At the Archives State Agency shall be created: 1. Central Expert Checkup Committee and 2. Central Expert Assessment Committee. (2) The Committee under § 1 p. 1 shall be an auxiliary body to the chairperson of Archives State Agency for the settlement of principle issues of the theory and practice of the value’s appraisal and the acquisition of archival records. (3) The Committee under § 1 p. 2 is an auxiliary body to the chairperson of Archives State Agency for the sake of assessment the value of records proposed to the Archives by physical and juridical persons against recompense and for the assessment of its measure. Art. 16. Archives State Agency shall organize and carry out vocational training, seminars, conferences and other forms of training to improve permanently the qualification of its staff.

5 Art. 17. Archives State Agency shall organize and carry out courses, seminars, conferences and other forms of training for people working in the establishments’ archives and for the members of the Expert Committees in the state and municipal institutions and shall deliver them certificates. Section II Central and Territorial State Archives Art. 18. The structure of Archives State Agency shall comprise central and territorial State Archives with status of directorates. Art. 19. The Central State Archives shall be: 1. The Central State Archives which head office shall be in Sofia and 2. The State Military Historical Archives which head office shall be in Veliko Turnovo. Art. 20. The Territorial State Archives shall be: 1. Sofia State Archives with territorial coverage Sofia-city and the region of Sofia; 2. territorial State Archives with territorial coverage the relevant regions; Art. 21. Object of the activity of the Central State Archives shall be the identified for permanent preservation records of the central structures of the State bodies and other state and municipal institutions, the documentary heritage of figures with national significance for the period after 1878, as well as records on the history of Bulgaria, kept by foreign Archives and other institutions. Art. 22. Object of the activity of the State Military Historical Archives shall be the identified for permanent preservation records of the Ministry of Defense, Bulgarian Army and the structures subordinated to the Minister of Defense, as well as the documentary heritage of important figures connected to them. Art. 23. Object of the activity of Sofia State Archives shall be the identified for permanent preservation records of Sofia Municipality and the municipalities/ communities included in the region of Sofia, of the territorial structures of state bodies and other state and municipal institutions located on the territory of Sofia-city and the region of Sofia, of bodies and organizations with local significance, as well as the documentary heritage of important figures for the history of Sofia-city and the region of Sofia.

6 Art. 24. Object of the activity of the territorial State Archives shall be the identified for permanent preservation records of the relevant regional administration and the municipalities on the territory of the respective regions and municipalities, of bodies and organizations with local significance, as well as the documentary heritage of important figures with local significance. Art. 25. The Archives under Art. 21 – 24 shall fulfill: 1. selection, acquisition and processing of records; 2. scientific and methodical guidance and supervision upon the organization of the work with records, their preservation and use in the establishments’ archives of the state and municipal institutions and the preservation of the records in the registration offices; 3. expert help during the elaboration of filing plans and branches’ lists of the records with periods of storage in the state and municipal institutions; 4. registering, recordkeeping account and maintaining the respective part of the Register of the National Archival Fonds; 5. creation of finding aids to the stored records and maintaining the respective part of the automated information system of the Archives; 6. ensuring access to and providing with the records for use; 7. preservation, restoration, conservation and creation of security fonds of the records. Art. 26. (1) The State Archives shall be led by directors which shall be helped by Expert Checkup Commissions and Expert Assessment (2) The Expert Checkup Committees shall examine and submit for approval the conclusions of the permanently acting Expert Committees of the organizations upon the appraisal concerning the value of the records. (3) The Expert Assessment Committees shall identify the value of records proposed to the Archives by physical or juridical persons against recompense as well as its amount. Art. 27. (1) The preventive, current and consequent control on the implementation of the obligations under this law shall be accomplished by the directors of the central and the territorial State Archives and by the officials, entitled by the agency’s chairperson.

7 (2) The persons under § 1 shall have the right to: 1. access the records including on electronic carrier which shall be kept in the state and municipal institutions; 2. know the reports of the internal auditors, inspectorates, Chamber of Accounts and other supervisory bodies, which shall be stored in the supervised state or municipal institution in the part relative to the organization and the preservation of the records. (3) In the discharge of their duties the persons under § 1 shall have to: 1. produce their identity card; 2. render objectively and exactly the results of the accomplished supervising activity on the basis of the checked up by them ex officio facts and circumstances and to acknowledge with them the heads of the supervised organization; 3. not to divulge facts and circumstances they knew during or due to the fulfillment of their duties unless in the cases foreseen by law. (4) The officials of Archives State Agency shall be obliged to observe the Code of Behavior of the Officials in the State Administration and the approved by the agency’s chairperson Ethic Standards of Behavior of the Officials of the State Archives. (5) For failure in duty under § 3 & 4 the officials shall bear the responsibility according to the Law on the State Servant and the Code of Labor. Section III Funding Art. 28. (1) The chairperson of Archives State Agency shall be subsidiary manager of budgetary credits at the Council of Ministers. (2) In the budget of Archives State Agency shall enter revenues from: 1. state charges for the acceptance of requests after a pattern, exemplifications of archival records and delivery of certificates; the amounts of the state charges shall be established by rates approved by the Council of Ministers; 2. other services evolving from the activity of Archives State Agency, according to prices, established by act of the Council of Ministers;

8 3. print publishing of the agency; 4. revenues from the use of the real estate – state property, including from holiday houses. 5. charges and expenses under Art. 64, § 5 of the Civil Procedure Code; 6. target means under European, international and other projects and programs (individual and joint); 7. donations from physical and juridical persons; 8. imposed fines and property sanctions under this law; 9. other sources and activities allowed by law. Art. 29. (1) The chairperson of Archives State Agency shall determine further material stimulation to the officials of the agency. The order and the terms to determine the individual amount of the further material stimulation shall be specified by internal rules, approved by the chairperson of the agency. (2) The further material stimulation for the chairperson of Archives State Agency shall be set by the respective deputy prime minister. (3) The funds under § 1 shall be fixed to 25 % of the annual amount of the resources for salaries from the budget of Archives State Agency for the appropriate year and shall enter the Law on the State Budget for the same year. Section IV National Archival Council Art. 30. To the chairperson of Archives State Agency a National Archival Council shall be created to coordinate the fulfillment of the state policy on development and improvement of the archival deed and the measures to preserve the National Archival Fonds. Art. 31. The National Archival Council shall be an inter- institutional consultative body which shall: 1. discus and give opinions on drafts of strategies, programs and normative acts relative to the preservation of the National Archival Fonds and to the development and improvement of the archival deed in the country and shall submit proposals to the Council of Ministers for their acceptance; 2. coordinate the interaction between the establishments’ archives and the State Archives, as well as between the Archives State Agency and the Archives outside its structure;

9 3. promote the filling in and the systematical running of the Register of the National Archival Fonds; 4. bring into line the requirements for acquisition, accounting and storage of the archival records in an Archives and for their conservation and restoration and for providing for use; 5. suggest measures for the preservation of the particularly valuable and unique records of the National Archival Fonds and the National heritage in risk by providing for modern equipment and adequate funding. Art. 32. (1) The National Archival Council shall be composed of 11 members and shall include representatives of the Archives under Art. 6, § 1. (2) The membership of the National Archival Council and the rules of its work shall be established by the Council of Ministers. Section V Archives and Archival Collections of Museums, Libraries, Cultural Clubs, Cultural, Religious and Other Public Institutions Art. 33. (1) Archives which store records of a defined type, period and way of creation shall be: 1. Manuscript-Documental and Literary Heritage Direction of Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library – for records from Bulgarian state’s origin and for records of eminent public figures, writers, cultural and scientific figures till 1878. 2. The Learned Archives of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – for records of the Bulgarian Learned Society and the institutes and the research associates of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. 3. Bulgarian National Film Archives – for Bulgarian feature films, documentaries, chronicles, popular science films and cartoons and the records on their production, for the promotion of the cinematographic art and culture in our country; 4. The Archives of Bulgarian National Television – for movie and television pictures, videos and audio recordings; 5. The Archives of Bulgarian National Radio – the Golden Fonds for the audio records: 6. The State Geodesic, Cartographic and Cadastral Fonds (Geocartfonds) of the Agency on Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre – for geodesic, cartographical and cadastral records; 7. The Archives of the National Institute of Monuments of Culture – for the National Register of the immovable monuments of culture,

10 records about immovable monuments of culture and about the sites relative to Bulgarian history and culture abroad. (2) The state and municipal museums and libraries, the library clubs, cultural, religious and other public institutions shall keep historically formed archival collections; records’ shall accession there, property of juridical and physical persons with the written wish of the owners. (3) The organizations under § 2 shall not have the right to acquire valuable records from state and municipal institutions, subject of acquisition by the State Archives. (4) The records under § 1 & 2 shall be provided for public access according to the methodical requirements of Archives State Agency. Art. 34. The Archives State Agency and its structures shall render methodical assistance in the work with the archival collections and records in the state and municipal museums and libraries, in the library clubs, cultural, religious and other public institutions according to the provisions of this law and respecting the Law on the Monuments of Culture and the Museums and the legislation in force in this field. Section VII Private Archives Art. 35. (1) Private Archives shall be created and shall be funded by physical and juridical persons. (2) The private Archives shall process, keep and provide access to records, created or legally acquired by physical and juridical persons. Art. 36. (1) The records in the private Archives about the history of Bulgaria shall be declared before the Archives State Agency or before its structures. (2) Experts of Archives State Agency shall carry out appraisal of the value of the records under §1. (3) The records which are identified as valuable shall enter the register of the National Archival Fonds within one month after their declaring. (4) The records under § 3 shall be provided for public access. Art. 37. (1) The private Archives shall not have the right to acquire for permanent storage valuable records of state organizations, subject to acquisition by the State Archives.

11 (2) The private Archives shall be able temporary, as an exception, provide repository area for the storage of records under § 1 till their accession in the State Archives. Art. 38. Archives State Agency and its structures shall aid methodically the private Archives and shall supervise the respecting of the provisions of this law. Art. 39. Other Archives shall be created by special law.

Chapter three FORMATION OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVAL FONDS

Section I Records of State and Municipal Institutions

Art. 40. Principal sources for accessioning the State Archives shall be the state and municipal institutions.

Art. 41. (1) The governing bodies of the state and municipal institutions shall be responsible for the activities on organizing, preserving and current use of their records’ fonds, the processing of the records and their transfer to the State Archives.

(2) To fulfill the work with the records in the state or municipal institution, their governing bodies shall create registry office, establishment’s archive and permanently acting expert committee.

Art. 42. (1) The bodies under Art. 41 shall appoint permanently acting expert committees which shall check-up annually the availability, the conditions of storage and preservation of the records. The results of the check-ups shall be recorded in a written statement which shall be sent for the sake of information to the appropriate State Archives within one month. (2) under § 1 the manager of the establishment archives, the registry clerk and heads of structural units obligatory enter the expert committees’ membership. (3) For the implementation of the activity of the establishments’ archives the bodies under Art. 41 shall ensure qualified officials, repository area and equipment. Art. 43. (1) the permanently acting expert committees of the state and municipal institutions shall elaborate filing plans and lists of records’ types with periods of their storage.

12 (2) The filing plans and the lists shall be approved by the appropriate bodies under Art. 41 and shall be confirmed by the directors of the respective State Archives. Art. 44. The terms of storage of the individual files shall be mentioned in the filing plan. Throughout the calendar year the records shall be involved in files with period of storage by that the current appraisal of their value shall be realised.

Art. 45. (1) All records concluded to 31st December of the current year in the registry offices of the state and municipal institutions shall be transferred to their establishment archives to 30th June the next year (2) The registry offices shall transfer the records to their establishment archives organized in files according to the approved filing plan. (3) The establishment archives of the state and municipal institutions shall preserve the records till their transfer to the respective State Archives or till their destruction. Art. 46. (1) The term of preservation of the records reflecting the principal activities of the state and municipal institutions shall be 20 years. (2) The terms of preservation of records other than those under § 1 shall be established by law. (3) Bills of laws where terms of records’ preservation shall be determined and amended under § 2 shall be agreed preliminarily with the chairperson of Archives State Agency. Art. 47. (1) After the expiry of the term under Art. 46, §1 the permanently acting expert committee shall accomplish appraisal of the records’ value on the background of criteria system established by the regulations under Art. 52. The results of the appraisal shall be drawn up in inventories of records identified in the following categories: 1. records for permanent preservation; 2. records identified as not valuable, and 3. records with long-term referential value. (2) The inventories of the permanently acting expert committees shall be approved by the governing body of the respective state and municipal institutions and shall be confirmed by the director of the State Archives accepting them.

13 Art. 48. (1)The records identified for permanent preservation shape the archives fonds of the organization and shall be transferred to the respective State Archives (2) Only original, shaped on standard records shall be included in the archives fonds. (3) The records identified as not valuable shall be described in a list and shall be destroyed. (4) The records with long-term referential value shall be described and kept in the organization till the expiry of the fixed terms after that an appraisal shall be done. (5) The records containing classified information shall be transferred to the State Archives in accordance with the order established by this law and after the expiry of the terms, fixed in the Classified Information Protection Act. Art. 49. (1) The records of massive-type character which shall be not liable to preservation may be destroyed after drawing up an act. The act shall be confirmed by the head of the respective state and municipal institution. (2) The act under § 1 shall be drawn up by the permanently acting expert committee according to the terms of limitation given by law and those given in the filing plan and the lists with terms of preservation. (3) A copy of the confirmed act under § 1 shall be sent for information to the respective State Archives within 2 months before destroying the records. Art. 50. The establishment archives and the permanently acting expert committees shall implement their activity under the methodical guidance and control of the State Archives, whose fonds’ creator the state or the municipal institution is. Art. 51. (1) Should state or municipal institutions be closed down, should be struck off or the production ended because of bankruptcy of companies according to § 1, p. 11 of the complementary provision, the heads, liquidators and the syndics in accordance with the Archives State Agency shall be obliged to transfer the valuable records to the respective Archives within 6 months. The closing down or the striking off shall be accomplished after presenting a certificate of valuable records’ transfer by the relevant State Archives. (2) The records with long-term referential value of the organizations under § 1 and of the struck off juridical persons

14 without assignee which shall be not liable to transfer to the respective State Archives and the territorial structures of the National Insurance Institute shall be kept in accordance with the rules established by Council of Ministers’ enactment. Art. 52. The rules of organizing, processing, appraising, storage and use of the records in the establishment archives of the state and municipal institutions shall be established by regulation adopted by the Council of Ministers. Section II Records of Physical persons Art. 53. Sources for Archives’ acquisition with records may be the personal archival fonds and collections of persons important for the public. Art. 54. The acceptance and the entering of personal archival fonds or collections in the Register of the National Archival Fonds shall be accomplished after declared wish in written from the part of their owners and the elaboration of expert assessment by Archives State Agency. Art. 55. (1) The records under Art. 53 shall be accepted by the Archives from the creators, heirs or persons having acquired or kept them, through donation, will or payment. (2) Should the records be donated or bequeathed, their creator or their heirs could require also conditions of access to them and to their use. (3) The conditions on the acceptance, storage and use of the records in the Archives could be defined by the appropriate testament or donation. (4) The acquisition of personal archival fonds or collections through donation or testament shall not affect the copyright upon them. (5) In the cases of acquired with payment records of juridical of physical persons, the amount of the payment shall be established by the assessment committees of the accepting Archives. Section III Records of Political Parties, Juridical Persons with Non-Profit Purpose and Merchant Societies Art. 56. Sources of records’ accessioning to the Archives could be political parties, juridical persons with non-profit purpose and merchant companies, having declared their wish to transfer records.

15 Art. 57. The acceptance of the records shall be accomplished after the declared wish of the competent bodies in written, representing the organizations under Art. 56, and the accomplishment of expert assessment by Archives State Agency. Art. 58. The conditions of acceptance, storage and use of the records in the Archives shall be established by contract. Section IV Records from Foreign Archives, Other Institutions and citizens Art. 59. Sources for accessioning the Archives with records could be also records and copies of records from foreign archives, other institutions, as well as Bulgarians and Bulgarian organizations abroad. Art. 60. Copies of records, sought for in foreign archives and other institutions through Bulgarian state funding shall enter to be kept by the Central State Archives. Art. 61. Records or copies of records of Bulgarians and Bulgarian organizations abroad could enter the chosen by them Archives after declared wish for this in written and after accomplishing an expert assessment by Archives State Agency. Art. 62. The conditions of acceptance, storage and use in the Archives of the records, transferred by Bulgarians and Bulgarian citizens abroad shall be established by contract.

Chapter Four. Registration and Accountability of the Records Section I. Registration and Accountability Units and Forms Art. 63. The registration and the accountability of the records shall have the purpose to establish the availability of the records and to ensure their preservation and use. Art. 64. All records of the National Archival Fonds shall be subject of registration. Art. 65. Archives State Agency shall maintain Central Fonds Catalogue which shall contain the generalized data on the accountability of the registered in the system fonds and shall be maintained as an unified data base. Art. 66. (1) The accountability in the State Archives shall be realised through fixed accountability units and forms. (2) Basic accountability units shall be the archival fonds, archival collections and partial accruals.

16 (3) Basic accountability units shall be: fonds’ catalogue, list of accessions, list of fonds, list of partial accruals, list of memoirs, list for special registration and inventories. (4) Separate archival fonds shall be registered in presence of integral documentation about the activity of the organization or of the physical person. (5) Type and/or topic related records of various fonds’ creators which shall not be sufficient to form individual archival fonds shall be organized and registered as archival collections. (6) Separate records or groups of records, not sufficient to form archival fonds or collection shall be registered as partial accruals. (7) Within the archival fonds or collections the archival records shall be gathered in archival units. Art. 67. For the realization of the accountability unified forms, approved by Archives State Agency’s chairperson shall be used. Section II Register of the National Archival Fonds Art. 68. (1) The Agency shall create and maintain Register of the National Archival Fonds in electronic format. (2) The register shall be created with the purpose to: 1. centralize the information about archival fonds and records in the Archives, about the archival collections and separate archival records; 2. ensure publicity of archival collections and records – property of juridical and physical persons; 3. extend the opportunities to preserve and use the National Archival Fonds. Art. 69. (1) In the Register of the National Archival Fonds data shall be written about the composition and contents of the archival records, their owner, the place of their storage and the type of their carrier. (2) The circumstances which shall be liable to enter the register of the National Archival Fonds, the order of its drawing shall be established by regulations adopted by the Council of Ministers. Art. 70. The Archives under Art. 6, § 1, as well as physical and juridical persons, owing valuable records, shall provide the required data for the Register of the National Archival Fonds.

17 Art. 71. The Register of the National Archival Fonds shall be public and shall be maintained as unified data base. Chapter five. Preservation and Storage of the Records of the National Archival Fonds Art. 72. The state and municipal institutions shall not be able to destroy records identified for permanent preservation by Archives State Agency. Art. 73. Owners which possess valuable records written in the Register of the National Archival Fonds shall preserve them according to the methodical requirements and standards of Archives State Agency and shall ensure their preservation. Art. 74. (1). The owners who possess valuable records, written in the Register of the National Archival Fonds shall inform in written the Archives State Agency chairperson about the necessity of restoration and conservation of the records. (2) The necessity of restoration and conservation of the records under § 1 shall be determined by experts of Archives State Agency. (3) The restoration and conservation of the records under § 1 shall be accomplished by Archives State Agency. Art. 75. The responsibility for the preservation and storage of the records in the state and municipal institutions till the expiry of the term under Art. 46, §1 shall be bore by their directors. Art. 76. Should the official or employment relations be terminated the servants in the state and municipal institutions shall deliver to the immediate superior all records that were with them. Art. 77. Should the heads of the respective state and municipal institutions, their structure units and the responsible for the establishment archives be changed, the available records shall be delivered, respectively accepted with inventory and statement. Art. 78. Should states organizations be reformed, their directors in accordance with Archives State Agency shall take measures for the organization, preservation and use of the records. Art. 79. (1) For the availability and the status of the acquired for permanent storage records in Archives or other state and municipal institution, the responsibility shall be bore by the Archives’ director and the officials who shall be responsible for the storage of the records in the repositories and the reading rooms.

18 (2) The reader shall be responsible, if guiltily causes damage to the records, when using them. The infraction shall be established by act of the authorized official. Art. 80. (1) Particularly valuable and unique records of the National Archival Fonds shall be national treasure and priority care shall be given to them by the state. (2) The records under § 1 shall be identified by specialised committee, which shall be assigned by the chairperson of Archives State Agency and shall accomplish its activity according to approved by him criteria and rules. The data about these records shall enter the Register of the National Archival Fonds. (3) To individuals who have communicated about records in risk or prevented their destruction could be delivered certificates of merit and/or paid recompense from the budget of Archives State Agency which amount shall be established by the chairperson upon motion moved by the Central Expert Assessment Committee. Art. 81. (1) The records shall be stored in repositories which shall provide their physical preservation, their protection from encroachments and their arrangement according to an appropriate to find them manner. (2) For the records in the repositories an appropriate temperature and humidity regime shall be provided, fire protection, protection against floods and supervised access to the site according to the relevant standards. (3) The control on the fonds availability shall be exercised through periodical stocktakings according to the methodical guidelines and instructions, issued by the Archives State Agency’s chairperson. Art. 82. (1) For physical steadiness and restoration of the records in close to the originate aspect and with maximum authenticity, the Archives shall ensure their conservation and restoration in specialised laboratories. (2) The conservation and restoration of records shall be accomplished only by persons with needed professional qualification to exercise the appropriate conservation and restoration activity. Art. 83. (1) The Archives shall obligatory assure copies of the preserved by them particularly valuable records, as well as of the records which shall be often provided for use.

19 (2) Should a record copy be available no original shall be provided for use. (3) Copies shall be registered in the fonds catalogue of the Archives but copies of the particularly valuable records and copies acquired from abroad - in the Register of the National Archival Fonds.

Chapter six. Access to Records and Their Use Section I Access to records Art. 84. The Archives under Art. 6, § 1 shall provide for the users public access to the records they keep. Art. 85. The access to records could be limited if this shall be authorized by law. Art. 86. The access to records could be temporary limited when: 1. records have not been processed according to the archival methods’ requirements 2. records’ physical conditions do not allow their use; 3. records has been provided to other user; 4. records are being in restoration or microfilming; 5. interested persons don’t give relevant information for finding the sought data; 6. their use contravenes the lawful interests of third persons; 7. their use contravenes the conditions put by the person who has delivered the records; 8. their use contravenes the provisions of the Copyright Law and its Allied Rights or of other laws; Art. 87. (1) The authorization of access and the denial of access shall be issued in written by the head of the respective Archives. The denial of access shall be motivated on the basis of the appropriate law or the will of the donors. (2) The denial could be appealed by the applicant in accordance with the procedures and terms established by the Administrative Procedure Code. Art. 88. (1) To provide access under Art. 6, § 1 the Archives shall elaborate finding aids to the records which shall be public. (2) The finding aids shall contain data about access restrictions.

20 Section II Use of Records Art. 89. The records of the National Archival Fonds shall be used for the purposes of the government, the development of science and culture, protection of rights and legal interests of physical and juridical persons. Art. 90. The use of records of the National Archival Fonds shall be accomplished: 1. by providing them in original or in copies on various carrier in reading rooms; 2. by correspondence through providing copies on various carrier or inquiries about the records’ contents; 3. by publishing them on traditional or digital carrier; 4. by organizing exhibitions, films producing, radio and TV broadcasting or other popularizing forms; Art. 91. The procedures to use the records of the National Archival Fonds shall be established by Regulations adopted by the Council of Ministers. Art. 92 The records of the National Archival Fonds from persons’ and families’ fonds and collections shall be provided for use unless the person or his heirs did not put restriction terms. Art. 93. (1) The use of records of the National Archival Fonds could be temporary forbidden for three months to person who infringed the rules of use established by the Regulations under Art. 91 (2) Should second infringement be committed the person shall be deprived of the right to use records for one year period. (3) In the cases under § 1 and 2 an order shall be issued by the Archives State Agency’s chairperson. Art. 94. (1) The use of originals of the records shall not be authorized outside the State Archives. (2) Only office copies of records which shall be constituent part of the National Archival Fonds shall be provided for the needs of state bodies and organizations, physical and juridical persons.

Chapter seven Administrative Penal Provisions

21 Art. 95. Persons who committed violations of Art. 8, § 2 and 3, Art. 37, § 1, Art. 49, § 3, Art. 51, § 1, Art. 77 и 78, shall be imposed a fine up to the amount of 500 to 3000 levas. Art. 96. Should the obligation under Art. 73 be not accomplished, the physical person shall be imposed fine up to the amount of 500 to 1000 levas, the juridical persons - property sanction up to the amount of 1000 to 2000 levas. Art. 97. (1) Official under Art. 41, § 1, who does not ensure appropriate conditions for recordkeeping and allows their lost, deterioration or destroying, shall be imposed a fine up to the amount of 2000 to 6000 levas if he/she is not liable to severer penalty. (2) Should second infringement be committed the penalty shall be a fine of 4000 to 12 000 levas. Art. 98. Fine of 1000 to 3000 levas shall be imposed to anyone, if he/she’s not subject to severer punishment, who: 1. does not implement an order or indication of Archives State Agency’s bodies, respectively of bodies of its structures in the country; 2. does not transfer the records of the state or municipal institution to be kept by the respective State Archives; 3. deteriorates, destroys or loses records during their use; Art. 99. To physical persons, sole traders and juridical persons for infringements of the regulations implementing this law, for which sanctions shall be not foreseen under this chapter, fine shall be imposed, respectively property sanction up to the amount of 1000 to 2000 levas. Art. 100. (1) The infringements of this law shall be established by acts issued by officials, nominated by the Archives State Agency’s chairperson. (2) On the basis of the acts, penal ordinances shall be issued by the chairperson of Archives State Agency or by the directors of the State Archives when assigned by the chairperson of the agency. (3) drawing up acts, issuing, appealing and executing penal acts shall be done in accordance with the procedure of the Law on Administrative Infringements and Penalties. COMPLEMENTARY PROVISION § 1. In accordance with this law:

22 1. "Act of records’ destruction" shall be a record attesting the quantity and the composition of records of massive type character with expired period of keeping to be destroyed. 2. "Archival fonds" shall be this part of the archival fonds of a state organization/ physical person, which was identified for permanent storage because of its value and has accessioned an Archives with permanent composition, as well as a totality of records formed in the Archives, which are historically and/or logically interlinked (archival collection). 3. "Archival unit" shall be a file accepted in the Archives and written in the inventory of archival fonds by its number, as well as physically detached group of records (separate record), written in inventory by its individual number (technical project or its part, map, album, roll, microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape, matrix, set of discs etc.) 4. "File" shall be a group of records with equal term of storage, connected by type, theme or other indication. 5. "Registry office" shall be the structure unit of an organization, managing the current records till their transfer to the establishment’s archives. 6. "Record" shall be a material object with information fixed upon no matter what carrier, created/ received or kept by an organization or person in accomplishing duties established by law or evolving from action. 7. "Endangered Records" shall be records in severe physical condition or kept in conditions which endanger their physical status. 8. "Records’ Fonds" of state organization/ physical person shall be the totality of records, formed in accomplishing their activity. 9. "Records of long-term referential significance" shall be records relative to labour or civil servant relations, property or civil status etc. 10. “Records of massive-type character with short-term referential significance” shall be records kept by the organizations within 1 to 5 years. 11. “State and Municipal institutions” shall be the budgetary organizations, state enterprises under Art. 62, § 3 of the Commerce Law, the merchant societies, where the state or the municipality possess the majority share, the merchant societies

23 with blocking quota of state or municipal participation in the capital, merchant societies where the state possesses the privilege share (“golden share”) and the non personalised societies under the Law on Duties and Contracts, in which the state or the municipality participates directly or indirectly in their property. 12. "Appraisal" shall be the procedure of identifying the value of the records according to scientific criteria in the aim of grading some records for permanent storage and other ones for destruction. 13. "Security Copy of Record" shall be a record elaborated to be physically preserved and to replace the original records in case of destruction. 14. "Security Fonds" shall be the totality of security copies of archival records created to keep the information in case of originals’ destruction or damaging during natural disasters, military conflicts, terrorist acts etc., as well as especially valuable records. 15. "Archives acquisition" shall be the systematic acquisition of records by an Archives according to its profile. 16. "Finding aids" shall be the reference books, created for the accountability, the composition and the contents of records. 17. "Filing plan" shall be the systematic list of files’ titles which are to be formed in a state organization with given terms of storage. 18. "Preservation" shall be a system of preventive measures including organizational, financial and other strategic decisions to maintain the integrity and life continuity of records, as well as actions for their physical preserving from infringements. 19. "Especially Valuable Record" shall be a record from the National Archival Fonds with non passing cultural and historical significance and scientific importance for the public and the state concerning that a special regime of accountability, storage and use shall be established. 20. "Stocktaking of Fonds" shall be a verification of the presence and status of the records in archival fonds, periodically made or when terms and place or storage has been changed. 21. "Repeated" shall be the infraction made within one year from the entry into force of the penalty ordinance by that the person was punished for the same kind of infraction.

24 22. "Principle of Provenance" shall be the principle according to that the records in Archives with permanent composition shall be added to this fonds from that they originate and inside it they keep their primary order given by the registry office of the respective state organization. 23. "Storage" shall be the activity to provide repositories and their equipment, rational arrangement of the records there, their security, maintenance of optimal temperature and humidity regimes, physical and chemical processing, conservation and restoration, security copies’ producing. 24. "Current Appraisal" shall be the annually systematization of the records in files in the establishment archives according to the filing plan with given periods of preservation. 25. "Establishment Archives" shall be Archives with changeable composition of records of separate state organization where they shall be kept till their transfer to the appropriate State Archives or till their disposal. 26. "Fonds’ creator" shall be state organization, physical or juridical person having created or for that records have been created, which shall be subject of permanent storage in Archives. 27. "Valuable record" shall be record which has passed through expert assessment on the basis of scientific criteria and recognized as such. TRANSITIONAL AND CONCLUDING PROVISIONS § 2. Valuable records acquired by succession, gift, and bequest or otherwise till the entry into force of this law shall be declared within 6 months from its entry into force. § 3. The records in the State Archives which contain personal data about citizens and had been provided for use before the entry into force of the Law on Protection of Personal Data shall continue to be accessible and shall be provided in accordance with the general procedure. § 4. The owners of privatized merchant societies or sites – former state or municipal property, shall transfer to the state archives the records which were found in the societies and the sites – state or municipal property, created from the beginning of their activity till the date of the entry into force of the respective privatization contract, within 6 months from the entry into force of the law.

25 § 5. (1) Archives State Agency shall be the assign of the records from the archives, of the liabilities, assets and other rights and duties of the General Department of Archives at the Council of Ministers. (2) The legal relations with the servants of the General Department of Archives at the Council of Ministers shall be settled according to Art. 123 of the Code of Labour and Art. 87а of the Law on the Civil Servant and according to the structure and staff established by the Statute Regulation of Archives State Agency. § 6. Till the entry into force of the provisions under Art. 52 and Art. 69 §2 the acting by-laws shall be valid unless they do not gainsay this law. § 7. The Law on the State Archival Fonds (Prom. SG 54/1974/, amend. SG 63/1976, 35/1977, 55/1987, 12/1993, 109/2001) shall be suspended. § 8. In the Penal Code (Prom. SG 26/1968, amend. SG 29/1968 …) the Art. 278 shall be amended: 1. In § 1 the words “archival material entering the state archives” shall be replaced by “record/records of the National Archival Fonds”. 2. In § 2 after the word "culture" is added "or record/records of the National Archival Fonds". 3. In § 3 the words “archival material included in the state archives” shall be replaced by “record/records of the National Archival Fonds”. § 9. In the Law on the Cadastre and Property Register (Prom. SG, 34/ 2000; amend. SG 45 & 99/ 2002, SG 36/2004, SG 39 & 105/2005, SG 29 & 30/2006) in Art. 12, p. 3 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National".

§ 10. In the Law on Accountancy (Prom. SG, 98 /2001 г.; amend. SG 91/ 2002, 96/ 2004, 102 & 105/2005, SG 33, 63, 105 & 108 /2006) the following changes shall be made: 1. In Art. 42, § 1 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". 2. In Art. 43 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 11. In the Law on Access to Public Information (Prom. SG, 55/2000; amend. 1 & 45/2002, 103/ 2005; amend. 24, 30 & 59/ 2006,

26 49/ 2007) in Art. 8, p. 2 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 12. In the Law on the Geodesy and Cartography (Prom. SG, 29/ 2006) in Art. 20, §1 и Art. 21, §5 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 13. In the Law on Protection of Personal Data (Prom. SG,1/ 2002; amend. SG 70 & 93/2004, SG 43 & 103/ 2005, SG 30 & 91/ 2006) in Art. 1, §7 shall be added at the end “as well as for the information which is kept in the National Archival Fonds”

§ 14. В Закона за защита на класифицираната информация (Prom. SG, 45/2002; amend. SG 5/2003; amend. SG 31/2003, SG 52, 55 & 89 / 2004, SG 17 & 82/2006, SG 46/2007) in Art. 33, 2 the words "State Archival Fonds" shall be replaced by "respective State Archives". § 15. In the Law on the Election of People’s Representatives (Prom. SG, 37/ 2001; 44/2001 г. – Decision № 8 of the Constitution Court from 2001; amend. SG 45/2002, SG 28, 32 & 38/2005, SG 24, 30, 63 & 95/2006) in Art. 23, § 1, p. 22 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 16. In the Law on Access and Revelation the Records and on Declaring the Bulgarian Citizens’ Belonging to State Security and the Investigation Services of Bulgarian People’s Army (Prom. SG, 102/ 2006; amend. SG 41/ 2007) in § 11 of the Transitional and Concluding provisions the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 17. In the Law on the Veterans of War (Prom. SG,152/1998; amend.49/2000, SG 40/ 2007) in Art. 3, § 2 the words "General Department of Archives at the Council of Ministers" shall be replaced by "Archives State Agency” § 18. In the Law on the Obligatory Deposit of Copies from Printed and Other Editions (Prom. SG,108/ 2000; amend. SG 28, 88 & 94/2005) p. 6 shall be created in Art. 9 as follows: 6. "Archives State Agency” - objects under Art. 3, § 1, p. 1 - 5, which were created when using archival records of the National Archival Fonds. § 19. In the Law on the Ministry of Interior (Prom. SG, 17/2006; amend. SG 30, 102 и 105/2006, SG 11, 31, 41 и 46/2007) in Art. 116, § 3 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 20. In the Tax-Insurance Procedure Code (Prom. SG,105/2005; amend. SG 30, 33, 34, 59, 63, 73, 82, 86, 95 & 105/2006, SG

27 46/2000) in Art. 38, §1 & 2 the word "State" shall be replaced by "National". § 21. The Regulations under Art. 52, Art. 69, §2 & Art. 91 shall be adopted by the Council of Ministers within 6 months from the entry into force of the law. The Regulation under Art. 9, §2 shall be adopted within one year from the entry into force of the law. § 22. The implementation of the law shall be assigned to the Archives State Agency’s chairperson. § 23. The Law shall enter into force from the date of its promulgation by "State Gazette".

The Law was adopted by the 40th National Assembly on 29th June 2007 and was sealed with the official seal of the National Assembly. Chairman of the National Assembly: Georgi Pirinsky