NESREĐENOST ARHIVSKE GRAĐE I DRUGE PREPREKE SLOBODNOM PRISTUPU INFORMACIJAMA U ARHIVU REPUBLIKE SRPSKE
DISORDER OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS AND THE OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS TO FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE ARCHIVE OF REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

Summary/Abstract: A basic democratic right of any person is free access to information. This right is supported by many international conventions, and it is incorporated in our own legislature. Archival institutions play a key role in the realization of this right, primarily through its user services. Laws and bylaws on archives and freedom of information make up a legal framework for implementing international standards on accessibility, while at the same time, they protect the public interest and individual privacy. There are other exceptions as well. One of the basic rules within the archival profession is the right to limit the use of disordered archival material, that is, not properly arranged and described material. Damaged records may also be withheld, or their use may be allowed with the special permission of responsible officials, granted that users apply extra care while handling them. In comparing the Law on Archives and the Law on Free Access to Information, we will analyze the rights granted to citizens, the obligations given to those who control the records and contained information, and the exceptions that may be warranted by specific situations, which are made possible by both of these laws. In the final analysis, we will see how these formalized solutions affect the user services of archival institutions and the users themselves, namely, the citizens.

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