The following terms, wherever mentioned in this Law, shall have the meanings assigned thereto:

• 1. Center: National Archives Center.

• 2. Entity: Any ministry, independent agency or government agency having an independent legal personality.

• 3. Archives: A repository of information related to State’s affairs and interests, whether said repository is created by one of its agencies or otherwise, if such repository is required to be archived for its significance or future need.

• 4. Administrative archives: Archives related to administrative work.

• 5. Financial archives: Archives related to financial issues.

• 6. Specialized archives: Archives related to the main activity of an entity.

This Law aims to preserve, maintain, index and classify archives for easy retrieval and organized circulation, taking into consideration prescribed retention periods.

Archives shall be classified into the following categories:

• 1. Administrative archives which are organized in accordance with a unified regulation prepared in collaboration with the Civil Service Bureau.

• 2. Financial archives which are organized in accordance with a unified regulation prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and National Economy and the General Auditing Bureau.

• 3. Special archives which are organized in accordance with multiple regulations, each prepared in collaboration with the relevant entity(s). Said regulations shall determine the types of archives in each category.

Archives shall have a unified classification system, and each entity shall have an independent code. The regulations shall set forth details therefor.

Archives shall be kept at the entity or the Center, or both. The regulations shall determine the following:

• 1. Retention period.

• 2. Methods of document delivery to the Center.

Archives are of two types:

• 1. Archives which may not be destroyed.

• 2. Archives which may be destroyed.

The regulations referred to in Article 3 shall specify the categories of said archives as well as the manner and dates of destruction thereof.

Archives shall be categorized for access purposes. The regulations shall specify the categories, access rules and controls for releasing certain materials or copies thereof within the Kingdom or abroad.

The entity and the Center shall use the most appropriate materials, equipment and devices as repositories for archives.

The regulations shall specify the methods for dealing with the originals of said archives as well as their repositories, and methods for benefiting from such originals or primary materials thereof.

For the application of this Law and issuance of its implementing regulations, a center named the “National Archives Center” shall be established. The Law of said Center shall specify its purposes, tasks and affiliation.

This Law shall supersede any conflicting provisions related to archives.