Privileged access to archives and the interest of research illustrated by the examples of German and French archival systems

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F70979391%3A_____%2F25%3AN0000013" target="_blank" >RIV/70979391:_____/25:N0000013 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10502-025-09493-x" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10502-025-09493-x</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10502-025-09493-x" target="_blank" >10.1007/s10502-025-09493-x</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Privileged access to archives and the interest of research illustrated by the examples of German and French archival systems

Original language description

The study addresses the issue of the possibility of specific access to public archives, particularly for the purposes of research or other scholarly purposes, not exclusively of official nature. This specific phenomenon is sometimes referred to as “privileged access to archives”. However, such access to archives subject to different than general access rules is only justified if it serves as a specific tool for balancing, on the one hand, the right of free access to information and, on the other, the need to protect the personality rights and privacy of the persons in the records. National archival legislations deal with this matter in a variety of ways. Some countries open the door to privileged access to archives, especially for research purposes wider, others not so wide. Most often, however, they introduce certain, albeit usually very limited, possibilities for exclusive access to archival records. This article analyses models from the French and German archival systems and shows how such privileged access, especially for research purposes, is applied in local archival law and in the practice of some archives in these two countries. It discusses the pros and cons of each solution, their benefits and applicability as well as their risks. The study seeks answers to the question whether privileged access to archives constitutes a violation of fundamental democratic principles and equal access to citizens, or if, on the contrary, it is a necessary tool to guarantee balance between the protection of personality rights and privacy and the right of access to information, freedom of study and research.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_SC - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60500 - Other Humanities and the Arts

Project

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Continuities

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Archival Science

ISSN

1389-0166

e-ISSN

1573-7500

Volume of the periodical

25

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

24

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

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EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105008184260