Archives Law of the People's Republic of China (2020 Revision)

Archives Law of the People's Republic of China (2020 Revision)

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China
(No. 47)

The Archives Law of the People's Republic of China, as revised and adopted at the 19th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on June 20, 2020, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on January 1, 2021.

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China
June 20, 2020

Archives Law of the People's Republic of China
(Adopted at the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 5, 1987, amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision to Amend the Archives Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 20th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on July 5, 1996, amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision to Amend Twelve Laws including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 7, 2016, and revised at the 19th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on June 20, 2020)
Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Archives Bodies and Their Duties
Chapter III Management of Archives
Chapter IV Use and Publication of Archives
Chapter V Development of Archives Information Systems
Chapter VI Supervision and Inspection
Chapter VII Legal Liability
Chapter VIII Supplemental Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is developed for the purposes of strengthening archives management, regulating the collection and arrangement of archives, effectively protecting and using archives, improving the development of archives information systems, promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capability, and serving the socialist undertaking with Chinese characteristics.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to the collection, arrangement, protection, and use of archives as well as the supervision and administration thereof.
For the purposes of this Law, “archives” means historical records in various forms, including words, diagrams, and audio-visual, among others, whose preservation is of value to the state and society and which have been or are being directly formed by organs, groups, enterprises and public institutions, other organizations, and individuals in their economic, political, cultural, social, ecological civilization, military, foreign affairs, scientific and technological, and other activities.
Article 3 The leadership of the Communist Party of China over the archives work shall be adhered to. People's governments at all levels shall strengthen their archives work, incorporate the archives undertaking in the national economic and social development plans, and include the funds required for the development of the archives undertaking in the government budget, so as to ensure that the development of the archives undertaking is commensurate with the level of national economic and social development.
Article 4 In archives work, the principle of unified leadership and level-by-level administration shall be followed in order to ensure the integrity and security of archives and facilitate the use thereof by all walks of life.
Article 5 All state organs, armed forces, political parties, groups, enterprises and public institutions, and citizens have the obligation to protect archives and the right to use them in accordance with the law.
Article 6 The state shall encourage and support scientific research and technological innovation on archives, promote the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements in archives collection, arrangement, protection, use, and other aspects, and promote scientific and technological progress regarding archives.
The state shall take measures to strengthen the publicity and education on archives and enhance the awareness of the entire society on the importance of archives.
The state shall encourage and support international exchange and cooperation in the field of archives.
Article 7 The state shall encourage the public's participation in and support for the development of the archives undertaking.
Entities and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the collection, arrangement, protection, and use of archives shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.
Chapter II Archives Bodies and Their Duties
Article 8 The archives administration of the state shall take charge of the archives work nationwide, be responsible for overall planning, organization and coordination of the archives undertaking nationwide, establish unified rules, conduct supervision and provide guidance.
The local archives administration at or above the county level shall take charge of the archives work within its administrative region, and supervise and direct the archives work of organs, groups, enterprises and public institutions, and other organizations within its administrative region.
The people's government of a township or town shall designate personnel to be responsible for managing its archives and to supervise and direct the archives work of its subordinate entities and basic self-governing mass organizations, among others.
Article 9 Organs, groups, enterprises and public institutions, and other organizations shall designate archives bodies or archivists to be responsible for managing their archives and to supervise and direct the archives work of their subordinate entities.
The central and state organs shall guide the archives work of their systems within the scope of their duties as required for archives administration.
Article 10 The archives of the Central Government and local archives of various types at or above the county level are cultural public institutions for the centralized management of archives, and they shall be responsible for collecting, arranging, preserving, and providing access to archives within their respective jurisdictions.
Article 11 The state shall strengthen the cultivation of archivists and team building, and enhance archivists' professional competence.
Archivists shall be devoted to their duties, observe disciplines and laws, and have the corresponding professional knowledge and skills. Among them, professional archivists may be assessed for professional technical titles in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.
Chapter III Management of Archives
Article 12 Organs, groups, enterprises and public institutions, and other organizations that should form archives in accordance with the provisions of the state shall establish a responsibility system for the archives work, and improve archives management rules in accordance with the law.
Article 13 The following materials directly formed that are of preservation value to the state and the society shall be archived:
(1) Those reflecting the organizational evolution and major functional activities of organs and groups.
(2) Those reflecting the major research and development, construction, production, operation and service activities of state-owned enterprises and public institutions, and protecting the rights and interests of state-owned enterprises and public institutions and their employees.
(3) Those reflecting the urban and rural community governance and service activities of basic self-governing mass organizations.
(4) Those reflecting national governance activities, economic and technological development, social and historical features, culture and customs, and ecological environment during all historical periods.
(5) Other materials that should be archived as provided for by laws and administrative regulations.
Non-state-owned enterprises, social service providers, and other entities shall preserve their relevant materials according to the scope set out in subparagraph (2) of the preceding paragraph.
Article 14 Materials of an entity that should be archived shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state, be handed over to the entity's archives body or archivists on a periodical basis for centralized management. No individual may refuse the archiving of such materials or keep such materials as his or her personal property.
It shall be prohibited to archive, without approval, the materials that should not be archived as prescribed by the state.
Article 15 An organ, group, enterprise, public institution, or any other organization shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state, hand over its archives to an archives on a periodical basis, and the archives shall not refuse to accept them.
Where archives are handed over to an archives in advance for preservation with the consent of the archives, the matters on the public disclosure of government information involved in the archives shall, before the expiration of the handover period provided for by the state, st......