The first modern archival institution in Bosnia-Herzegovina

phone/fax: + 387-33-206-492
e-mail: info@arhivbih.gov.ba
Reisa Džemaludina Čauševića 6, Sarajevo

Records Management

Archives becomes by selection from current records.

Current records are whole of documents created or received through activities of particular person or corporate body. Current records are archives in creation.

Section for supervision of agency records centers works on registering creators of archives and inspection of their records and preservation of them.

This part of archival service in BiH is organized on the end of 50's, when Društvo arhivskih radnika (Society of archivists) in 1957. made a decision on creating a register of creators agencies, with all relevant data about creators (name of agency, establishment, records management, records in possession, place, disposal schedules).

The first organized action on collecting data about creators agencies started in 1960, and especially in 1961. After that action, created register was based on following classification:

  •  public bodies and institutions (government, administration, cultural-educational institutions, health and social institutions, justice administration);
  •  enterprises;
  •  social organisations;
  •  religious organizations and institutions, and private collections.

In 1965. was drawn a first Preliminary list of documents (i. e. records schedules), and after that, in 1966. Guidelines on archival and current records.

Procedure was that competent archival institution, after proposal of disposal by owner, create a higher commission which issues permission for destroy of worthless records.

Disposal schedules are in our archival practice since 1971 through provisions of Uredba o kancelarijskom poslovanju organa uprave i organizacija (Act about administation and records management in public institutions).

Later, there were a lot of regulations on records management, selection of records and their transfer to competent archival institution (Uputstvo o postupku odabiranja arhivske građe i izdvajanja bezvrijednog registraturskog materijala organa uprave i organizacija,  Uputstvo o načinu primopredaje arhivske građe između organa uprave i organizacija i nadležnog arhiva, Uputstvo o načinu vođenja i korišćenja arhivske knjige organa uprave i organizacija etc.)

Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina is competent for archives and records of institutions of Bosnia-Herzegovina, public institutions and corporations, and corporate bodies and persons that perform their activities on whole territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Creators and owners of archives are obliged to keep and preserve them arranged, ensure them from damages and destroy. That means appropriate space for storage, equipment and proper physicall condition. Creators also deliver lists of records.

 

 

Creators are obliged to inform Archives about all changes on their records. In the case of cessation of one creator, archives must be transferred to its successor or to competent Archives. The body who makes a decision of cessation of the activity of a creators or an owner of archives and current records is obliged to determine a new body as an owner of that archives and to make a decision on their transfer to a competent archives.

Creators and owners of public current records regularly, after the retention period determined in records schedules, select the archives, following the regulations on selection and with permission of ABH. Selection and disposal must be done in period of one year after retention period.

Records schedule is an act issued by creator and approved by Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Creators of records initialize the procedure for selection and disposal. This procedure is based on lists of records as register.  

Only archival institutions can do selection of records created since 1945, and records created in period 1992-1995.

Transfer of archives is regulated by Regulations on transfer of archives to Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Public archives will be transferred to Archives in period not longer than 30 years after their creation. Archives can take over archives earlier if it is necessary for their protection. Retention period can be changed.

Creators and owners of public current records are obliged to transfer them in original, arranged, classified, listed, in rounded wholes, and also technically equipped, in accordance with the regulations on transfer of records to archives.

Special regulations we have for private records.

Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina in cooperation with entity archival institutions draws up a list of owners of archives in private possession, that have been determined to be of interest to the state.

Competent archives has a register of owners of private archives, which contains data about owner.

Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina has right and obligation of inspection of archives in private possession.

The owners of private archives, that keep archives or particular documents, are obliged to keep, arrange and list the archives; to enable competent persons from competent archives inspection, listing and research in protection purposes; to inform competent archival institution about all changes on archives; to enable copying of archives on demand of competent archives.

The owners of private archives which want to sell their archives, are obliged first offer them to a competent archives on whose territory they reside. The competent archives which have no intention to buy is obliged within the period of 30 days to make decision concerning offer.

Today, Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina, except provisions of Archives Act, perform this activity in accordance with some regulations: