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type: Mandate
authorizes: ch-005486
general description: The Swiss Federal Archives preserve the documentation of government actions and make it accessible. This enables the administration to account for its activities and work more efficiently. For the public and researchers alike, archiving is essential for the formation of independent, critical opinions in a democratic state under the rule of law. Research in the Federal Archives can be carried out online or on site. The Federal Archives’ mandate is to ensure the long-term availability of information relating to the Swiss Confederation. Their activities cover five areas: 1. Information management: The Federal Archives support and advise the Confederation on the creation, organisation and management of its data and documents. 2. Appraising archive worthiness: The Federal Archives work with the administrative bodies to select the data and documents that are to be archived for an unlimited period. 3. Preservation and management: The Federal Archives ensure that documents are preserved in the archives and that digital data remain readable at all times. 4. Access: The Federal Archives make a catalogue of the archival and data fonds of the Confederation available to the public. Analogue archive documents can be consulted on site or ordered online as digital copies. Digital archive documents are supplied online. 5. Mediation: The Federal Archives participate in research on selected historical issues and make the results accessible to a broad public. The basis for the Federal Archives’ mandate is to be found in a number of laws – principally the Federal Act on Archiving (ArchA, SR 152.1). The Federal Archives set out their main areas of activity in a strategy, which is valid for five years.