A bold attempt to kill of the registry in Nordic public administration: A review of proposed archival legislation in Sweden and Norway

Abstract

Norway and Sweden are currently in the process of revising those parts of their legislative frameworks that regulate public records management and archiving. Both countries issued drafts for new record-keeping legislation, accompanied by broad discussions and motivations, in 2019. While the challenges prompting these revisions are largely similar, they have followed distinct paths. The Swedish approach is relatively conservative, seeking to preserve established traditions such as the well-established registry principle while advocating moderate alignments with administrative law and freedom of information. The Norwegian draft is more concerned with embracing social and technological changes to expand record keeping options in the public sector, including by recognizing the increasing role of private enterprises in public services and administration. The most radical part of the Norwegian proposal was a complete abandonment of the registry principle as a mandatory norm for organizing records. This would represent a radical departure from past experience in Norway, and in the Nordic countries more generally.