The impact of regulations and policy on the long-term preservation of digital records

english

2025

volume 35, issue 1

Mednarodni inštitut arhivskih znanosti Trst-Maribor
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Purpose: This research analyzes the impact of legal, political, and standardiza-tion factors on the long-term preservation of digital records in public archives, with a focus on the Slovenian case within the framework of European regulatory and strategic guidelines. Special attention is given to the connection between in-ternational standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 16363, ISO/TR 18128, and le-gal acts such as the GDPR and eIDAS 2, and their influence on archival practice.Methodology: A qualitative methodology was used, including analysis of legal documents (laws, regulations), standards, political strategies, and professional literature. This is complemented by an analysis of cases from the Slovenian con-text that illustrate the influence of political decisions on archival legislation and the accessibility of records.Results: This research confirms that long-term preservation of digital records, the establishment of trustworthy repositories, and archival policy are closely intertwined with the legal and political environment. Legal compliance is fun-damentally ensured, but obstacles are mainly evident in the implementation of standards, political stability, institutional independence, and funding. Hypoth-eses H1 and H2 are confirmed, while H3 is partially confirmed – standards have high practical value, but limited implementation. The research also offers specif-ic recommendations and suggestions for further study. Discussion: The article presents the first comprehensive study in the Slovenian context that systematically connects the archival profession with the concepts of political stability, digital transformation, and risk management. It highlights the possibilities of applying international standards within the national legal frame-work and emphasizes the need to align archival policy with other public policies and strategic documents. The results are directly useful for legislators, managers of archival systems, information security experts, and researchers.

16.03.2026