Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China — Full English Translation (1987, Revised 2020)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of strengthening archives administration, standardizing the collection and arrangement of archives, effectively protecting and utilizing archives, enhancing the level of informatization of archives, and promoting the development of the national governance system and the modernization of governance capacity, so as to serve the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Article 2 This Law shall apply to activities of collecting, arranging, protecting, utilizing, and supervising and administering archives. For the purposes of this Law, archives mean historical records in various forms, such as written words, diagrams, audio-visual materials, and electronic data, which are directly formed by past and present State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations, as well as individuals in their activities, and which are of preservation value to the State and society.

Article 3 The principle of unified leadership and hierarchical administration shall be adhered to in the work of archives. The State shall strengthen the scientific management of archives and the application of modern science and technology in archival work, and protect the security of archives.

Article 4 All State organs, armed forces, political parties, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and citizens shall have the obligation to protect archives and the right to use archives according to law.

Article 5 People’s governments at the county level and above shall incorporate the undertakings of archives into their national economic and social development plans, and include the expenses for archives undertakings in their fiscal budgets, so as to ensure that the development of archives undertakings is coordinated with the national economic and social development.

Article 6 The State encourages and supports scientific research and technological innovation in archives, promotes the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements in archives, and advances the progress of science and technology in archives. Entities and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the collection, arrangement, protection, utilization, and other aspects of archives shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant State regulations.

Chapter II: Archives Institutions and Their Duties

Article 7 The State archives administration department shall be in charge of the nationwide undertakings of archives and shall be responsible for the overall planning, organization and coordination, unified systems, supervision, and guidance of the nationwide undertakings of archives. Archives administration departments of local people’s governments at the county level and above shall be in charge of the archives undertakings within their respective administrative areas and shall supervise and guide the archives work of State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations within their respective administrative areas.

Article 8 State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall establish archives institutions or designate personnel to be responsible for the management of the archives of their own entities. Township people’s governments shall designate personnel to be responsible for the management of the archives of their own organs and shall supervise and guide the archives work of their subordinate entities, grassroots self-governance organizations, and others.

Article 9 Central and local state archives at all levels are cultural institutions that centrally manage archives and shall be responsible for the collection, arrangement, protection, and utilization of archives within their respective scopes of responsibility, as well as providing archives services to the public.

Article 10 The staff members of archives institutions shall be loyal to their duties, observe discipline, and possess professional knowledge in archives.

Chapter III: Management of Archives

Article 11 Materials that shall be archived in accordance with State regulations shall be regularly transferred by the archival institutions or archival staff members of the relevant entities to the archives office of the entity for centralized management, and no individual shall retain them for his or her own use. Materials that are prohibited by State regulations from being archived shall not be archived without authorization.

Article 12 State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall, in accordance with State regulations, regularly transfer archives to the relevant archives institutions. Where it is truly necessary to extend the transfer period due to special circumstances, the consent of the archives administration department at the same level shall be obtained.

Article 13 Archives institutions shall establish scientific management systems to facilitate the utilization of archives. They shall be equipped with necessary facilities to ensure the security of archives. Archives institutions and their staff members shall not sell, transfer, or give away archives without authorization, nor destroy archives without authorization.

Article 14 The identification of the preservation value and the destruction of archives that have lost their preservation value shall be carried out in accordance with the principles, standards, and procedures set forth by the State archives administration department. Destruction of archives without authorization is prohibited.

Article 15 State-owned archives shall not be sold or transferred without authorization. The exchange of original documents and duplicates, as well as the transfer of archives between archives institutions, shall be subject to approval in accordance with relevant State regulations. The donation and exchange of archives between State-owned archives and foreign organizations or individuals shall be subject to approval by the relevant competent department in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 16 Collectively owned and individually owned archives that are of preservation value to the State and society or that shall be kept confidential shall be properly kept by the owners of the archives. Where the storage conditions of the archives are poor or other reasons may cause serious damage to or insecurity of the archives, the State archives administration department shall have the power to take measures such as providing custody or acquisition to ensure the integrity and security of the archives. When necessary, such archives may be acquired or requisitioned.

Article 17 It is prohibited to smuggle, sell, or transport archives out of the country without authorization. The transport of archives out of the country by entities or individuals, including the exit of original documents, duplicates, or reproductions of archives, shall be subject to approval in accordance with relevant State regulations.

Chapter IV: Utilization and Publication of Archives

Article 18 State archives institutions shall open archives to the public in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations to facilitate the use of archives by the public. Archives transferred to state archives institutions by State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall be open to the public upon the expiry of 25 years from the date of their formation, unless they involve State secrets, commercial secrets, personal privacy, or other matters not suitable for disclosure in accordance with relevant State regulations. Archives in the fields of economy, education, science and technology, and culture may be open to the public in less than 25 years.

Article 19 State archives institutions shall regularly publish catalogues of open archives, create conditions for the utilization of archives, simplify procedures, and provide convenience. Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations may, by presenting their valid identity documents such as identity cards, make use of the archives already made public.

Article 20 State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations, as well as citizens, may, in accordance with relevant State regulations, make use of archives not yet open to the public. In utilizing archives, the provisions on confidentiality shall be observed, and the lawful rights and interests of the State, society, and other individuals shall not be infringed upon.

Article 21 The publication of archives shall be subject to the consent of the relevant institutions or individuals. The State archives administration department shall formulate specific measures for the publication of archives.

Chapter V: Informatization of Archives

Article 22 People’s governments at all levels shall incorporate the informatization of archives into their plans for the development of informatization, and ensure the security of electronic archives, digital archives resources, and archives information systems. Archives institutions and State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall strengthen the construction of archives informatization and adopt measures to ensure the security of archives information.

Article 23 Electronic archives shall have the same legal effect as traditional archives, provided that the sources are reliable, the procedures are standardized, and the elements comply with relevant State regulations. Electronic archives may be managed using electronic forms alone. The State archives administration department shall formulate specific measures for the management of electronic archives.

Article 24 The State encourages and supports archives institutions and State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations in promoting the digitalization of traditional archives and the sharing and utilization of digital archives resources.

Chapter VI: Supervision and Inspection

Article 25 Archives administration departments shall supervise and inspect the implementation of laws and regulations on archives by archives institutions, State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations. Units and individuals under inspection shall cooperate and truthfully provide relevant information, and shall not refuse or obstruct the inspection.

Article 26 Where archives administration departments discover potential safety hazards in the management of archives, they shall order rectification within a time limit and eliminate the potential safety hazards. Where illegal acts occur, they shall investigate and deal with them according to law.

Article 27 Any entity or individual shall have the right to report or file a complaint against illegal acts in archives. Archives administration departments and other relevant departments receiving reports or complaints shall deal with them in a timely manner according to law.

Chapter VII: Legal Liability

Article 28 Where any entity or individual commits any of the following acts, the archives administration department at the county level and above or the relevant competent department shall order it to make corrections within a time limit and impose a fine according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law: (1) losing or damaging archives under State ownership without authorization; (2) selling, transferring, or giving away State-owned archives without authorization; (3) destroying archives without authorization; (4) altering or fabricating archives; (5) smuggling, selling, or transporting archives out of the country without authorization; (6) failing to archive materials that shall be archived in accordance with regulations, or failing to transfer archives in accordance with regulations, and refusing to make corrections; (7) failing to provide archives to the public in accordance with regulations; (8) other illegal acts in archives administration.

Article 29 Where archives institutions, State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations violate the provisions of this Law, and the circumstances are serious, the archives administration department or the relevant competent department shall impose sanctions on the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel according to law.

Article 30 Where staff members of archives administration departments and archives institutions abuse their powers, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractice for personal gain, sanctions shall be imposed according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Chapter VIII: Supplementary Provisions

Article 31 The specific scope of archives that shall be transferred to state archives institutions by State organs, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations in accordance with regulations, and the specific measures for the management of archives by other entities and individuals, shall be formulated by the State archives administration department.

Article 32 This Law shall enter into force as of January 1, 1988.