Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser

August 2021

Inter-American Model Law on Document Management is presented at the III Archival Congress of the Americas


Inter-American Model Law on Document Management is presented at the III Archival Congress of the Americas

The Department of International Law (DIL) of the OAS Secretariat for Legal Affairs participated in the inaugural session of the III Archival Congress of the Americas, held virtually from August 26 to 28. This event allowed various archival scientists from around the Americas to share experiences, outcomes, reflections, knowledge and activities related to the theme "Archival Territories: Building Social Sciences and Humanities in Memory and Archival Science."

The event aimed to formulate recommendations to guide the region’s public policies for the effective implementation of archival knowledge, the archival services that a digital society requires, the coexistence of paper and electronic systems, and the current dilemmas of archival institutions, among others.

During his intervention, Dr. Dante Negro, Director of the DIL, noted that document management is part of the Department's agenda based on a mandate from the OAS General Assembly, under which the Inter-American Model Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information and its annexes, namely, the Inter-American Model Law on Document Management and its corresponding Application Guide have been drafted and approved as a comprehensive set of tools to strengthen the OAS Member States’ efforts to create or reform their legal framework on the subject.

Dr. Negro also highlighted that the central axis of the Model Law 2.0 is the principle of maximum disclosure, which establishes that public information must be delivered in a complete, timely and accessible manner, and stressed that these conditions cannot be met in the absence of appropriate management of the information itself and the documents that contain it.

For his part, Dr. Ricard Pérez, Head of the Document Management and Electronic Archives Section of the General Sub-Directorate of State Archives of the Government of Spain, who actively participated in the preparation of the Inter-American Model Law on Document Management and its Application Guide, referred to the links between access to information and document management, noting that when the archival tools are inadequate, the documentation may exist but not be duly registered, not found or have been inappropriately destroyed, frustrating the purpose of the right of access to public information.

Dr. Pérez also highlighted the role of archival work as a key element of access to public information and therefore, of transparency as an element of democratic life. Finally, he summarized the content of the Model Inter-American Law on Document Management, making general comments on each of its chapters.

» To view the Inter-American Model Law on Document Management, click here.

» To view the Application Guide of the Inter-American Model Law on Document Management, click here.

» To visit the DIL’s web page on access to public information, click here.

foot

Suscribe | Unsubscribe | Suggestions | Archive | DIL Site | OAS Site | Contact Us

Unless otherwise indicated, the materials published on this website, including opinions expressed therein, are the responsibility of the individual authors/compilers and not those of the Organization of American States (OAS), or its Member States.

© 2021 Department of International Law, Organization of American States. All rights reserved.
19th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20006 USA