1.5 Summary of the National Archives Act

Government agencies are required by the National Archives Act BE 2556 (2013) to keep official documents in operation or in their possession in order to submit them to the Fine Arts Department. These official documents may be of the following nature.

(1) having a value in accordance with the agency's objectives;

(2) having historical significance;

(3) having study or research value

For the retention of official documents, government agencies must prepare a list or schedule of official document retention that includes, at a minimum, the types and categories of documents, the period of document retention, the methods of document retention, and the delivery of lists or storage schedules of official documents. During the government agency-specified retention period for official documents, the documents are kept in their entirety and are accessible for reference.

Chapter 3 of the National Archives Act of 2013 contains the following regulations regarding the protection of archive documents.

• No one is permitted to alter or edit archived documents.
• No one may modify archival documents. Unless repaired by the Department of Fine Arts or with permission from the Director-General.
• No one may remove, destroy, harm, or diminish the value of archive documents. No one may send or remove archive documents from the Kingdom unless authorized by the Director General with the Minister's approval.
• It is prohibited for anyone to buy, sell, exchange, distribute, or accept archive documents in any way.
• No one shall forge a document, in whole or in part, with the intent of fooling others into believing it is an authentic archive document.
• When certified by the Director-General, copies of archive documents kept and preserved at the National Archives can be used as witnesses in court in lieu of the originals.