Retention, archiving and deletion

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

This video focuses on how to apply retention criteria without confusing closure with erasure. Follow the sequence of decisions in the example rather than simply memorising a list. Notice who is involved, what information is needed and the expected result. These points help turn the content into a practice that another person can verify. A reporting case may contain data about the reporting person, people concerned and third parties. Data protection must accompany the whole lifecycle, from the form to archiving. This course addresses operational decisions. Legal bases and restrictions on rights require assessment of the specific processing.

Regulation No 1 article 8 requires reports, attachments and subsequent documentation to be kept for five years after handling closes, subject to the exception for instituted related criminal, civil, employment or administrative proceedings. Receipt is not the starting event. The exception does not justify indefinite retention of everything; clearly irrelevant data have a separate deletion rule.

Apply the following rule: Article 8 of Regulation No 1 of 27 July 2023 requires reports, attachments and subsequent documentation to be kept for five years after handling closes, subject to the exception for instituted related criminal, civil, employment or administrative proceedings. The starting event is closure, not receipt. Document grounds and review of the exception. Clearly irrelevant personal data must not be collected and, if collected accidentally, must be deleted under article 32(2). The register is not public and access is restricted.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Define information classes, the reference event, duration, review owner and final disposition. Before a scheduled deletion, check the applicable rule, necessity and any pending proceedings. Preserve material only where legally permitted or required; do not invent an extension to a statutory maximum. Include exported copies and archival media, with restricted access. Clearly irrelevant data follow their own deletion rule. Before moving on, turn this procedure into a sequence you could explain to a colleague. Identify the first check, the action that depends on its outcome and the record that allows the decision to be reconstructed. Follow the sequence on screen and identify the point where an error would change the result.

3. Case Study & Compliance Action

A case reaches an internal review date during related court proceedings. The reviewer establishes the applicable exception and necessary material. The team neither deletes everything mechanically nor retains the entire archive without reasons and a subsequent review. Now read the case carefully. Separate established facts from information you would still need to confirm. Do not add motives or events that have not been described. This distinction matters when choosing a response proportionate to the information available.

The exercise is as follows: Does reaching the originally planned date permit automatic deletion of everything? Choose an answer and write one sentence explaining it. During the pause, compare your choice with the criteria we have just considered. Also think about the material you would retain to explain the decision later.

No. Identify the rule and starting event, distinguish internal dates from legal limits, and check any applicable duty to preserve or erase. A pending dispute is not a universal extension. Record a lawful decision for originals, copies, attachments and access, with a review date where continued retention is allowed.

One mistake to avoid is: configuring a single deletion period without legally relevant exceptions.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. The system deletes every case five years after receipt, regardless of the country and any pending proceedings. Is that appropriate?

No. Identify the local rule, starting event and any limits or extensions. A uniform schedule may delete records too early or retain them too long. Document the decision by category, include copies and define who reviews a suspension of deletion, rather than keeping everything indefinitely.