4.1.1 Archiving

The university is a public authority, and as such, responsible for its archives. The university archives consist of public records, a large part of which contains personal data.

Personal data should not be retained for longer than is necessary for the purposes of the processing. However, this provision does not prevent an authority from archiving and preserving public records or for later transferring the archives to an authority of archives. This is considered a legal basis for performing tasks of public interest.

Sensitive personal data have a stronger protection but may still be archived depending on the circumstances. Sensitive personal data, according to the General Data Protection Regulation, are data which include racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, union membership, genetic and biometric data, data on a person's health, sexual life or sexual orientation. Personal data relating to convictions in criminal matters are also included as well as genetic data and biometric data that uniquely identify a person.

According to Arkivlagen (the Archives Act), the archives of the authority shall be preserved, kept organized and taken care of in the interests of:

  • Public access to information - The principle of public access under Tryckfrihetsförordningen (the law regulating access to public documents and freedom of speech) is central to the Swedish legal system. It means that the public, often individuals and media representatives, have the right to transparency in the work of the authority and access to its public records. The general documents that describe activities over time should therefore be preserved.
  • Justice and administration - Documents proving what the authority or individual official has done or not done, eg What the authority has agreed upon through an agreement with another party is important to preserve.
  • Research needs - Documents deemed to be valuable for future research should be preserved. This assessment is often done in consultation with the university.

In addition to the requirements of Arkivlagen (the Archives Act) on preserving documents, there is of course also the need to preserve information to meet the needs of the university to be able to analyze its activities through completed and archived cases and projects.