Hungary
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Country Profile for Hungary
Legislative and organisational background
The basic rules and regulations concerning the preservation, transfer and use of public records, as well as private archives of permanent value are established by the Archives Act of 1995 (officially called “Act LXVI of 1995 on Public Records, Public Archives, and the Protection of Private Archives” – http://www.natarch.hu/english/menu_41.htm). The original 1995 law defined the concept of “record” regardless of the format or medium of recording with the expressed intention to cover also electronic documents. Although this was considered a rather progressive approach at the time, due to the rapid evolution and increasing use of information technology, the disadvantages of this broad definition had soon become obvious. Most importantly, as the definition applied to “all records,” the related rules and regulations did not specifically address the problems resulting from the specific features of electronic records. In 2003, recognizing the need for such detailed rules, the Government launched a large-scale interagency project aimed to draft the “missing” regulations, harmonize the various records management rules and activities within the public administration and lay the organizational and technological foundations of a future electronic archives. This latter program was initiated in view of the archival community’s explicit opinion reflected in a crucially important executive regulation that had been issued a year earlier by the Minister of Cultural Heritage. Ministerial Decree No. 10/2002 on “The Requirements Related to the Professional Activities of Public Archives and Open Private Archives” had stated that public and open private archives must take proactive steps in order to ensure the preservation of information stored on digital media so that the authenticity and reliability of the records are maintained.
As a result, in 2005 the original Archives Act was significantly changed and amended. Part of the amendments sets rules concerning the management and permanent preservation of electronic records, while others deal with the administrative and organizational background ensuring the appropriate implementation of the new regulations.
These amendments and the enactment of Act CXL of 2004 on “The General Rules of Administrative Proceedings and Services” brought about the appearance of a number of executive regulations, as well. The most important executive-level regulations influencing the management of electronic records are as follows:
Decree No. 114/2007. (XII. 29.) of the Minister of Economy and Transport on the Rules of Digital Archiving
Joint Decree No. 24/2006. (IV. 29.) issued by the Ministers of the Interior, Information and Communications and National Cultural Heritage on the Requirements for Electronic Records Management Systems Applicable by Agencies Performing Public Duties
Government Decree No. 193/2005. (IX. 22.) on the Detailed Rules of Electronic Administration
Government Decree No. 195/2005. (IX. 22.) on the Security and Interoperability Criteria of Information Systems Facilitating Electronic Administration
Government Decree No. 335/2005. (XII. 29.) on the General Requirements for the Records Management of Agencies Performing Public Duties
Decree No. 13/2005. (X. 27.) of the Minister of Information and Communications on the Rules of Digitisation of Paper-based Documents
More detailed information on the legal framework can be found at
http://www.epractice.eu/document/3374
At present, departmental control over the management of electronic records is shared by the Minister of Local Government and the Minister of Education and Culture. The Minister of Local Government performs his duties directly related to electronic records through the Budapest City Archives and the Government Records Management Inspectorate (established in 2006), while the executive arm of the Minister of Education and Culture in this respect is the National Archives of Hungary.
More detailed information on the history and infrastructure of eGovernment initiatives in Hungary can be found at
(html) http://www.epractice.eu/index.php?page=document.factsheets&cntr=11
(pdf) http://www.epractice.eu/resource/726
Management of databases
Overview of database management regulations in your country. Relevant guidelines and tools in use should be mentioned as well as available best-practice reports.
Electronic Records Management Systems
Overview of ERMS oriented regulations and guidelines, national and international metadata standards in use, supervisory and certification issues. If possible, main problems in applying guidelines and standards could be mentioned.
Ingest and pre-ingest in general
This section should deliver a basic understanding on the pre-ingest and ingest workflow. The timeline for separate tasks as well as responsibilities (which tasks are done in agencies and which at the National Archives) could be addressed.
Pre-ingest actions for datasets
A more in-depth technical description of the pre-ingest workflow for datasets and an overview of the tools and standards used (both for archival formats and metadata) should go here. If different approaches are used for different datasets (statistical data, national datasets, personnel and accounting databases) this could also be addressed briefly.
Pre-ingest actions for ERM systems
A technical overview of tools and methods regarding the preparation of transfer of records to the archives. Possible issues are archival file formats (if dealt with in agencies), requirements for metadata, mandatory functionality in ERM systems etc.
Transfer to archives
An overview of transfer standards and methods. On-line transfer protocols and standards, also requirements for off-line transfer media should be described.
Ingest actions for datasets
An overview of the SIP to AIP conversion process. This section should mostly describe issues like generating the archival description for datasets, normalisation and validation, tools used and future plans.
If appropriate the process for initiating a retransfer could be mentioned
Ingest actions for electronic records
An overview of the SIP to AIP conversion process for electronic records originating from ERM systems. Normalisation of files, metadata conversions and the tools used could be some issues to explain.
If appropriate the process for initiating a retransfer could be mentioned.
Other comments and remarks
This is a section for additional comments and remarks, if needed.
References
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