Module Learning Objective

distinguish retention length from its legal starting event

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

This video focuses on how to distinguish retention length from its legal starting event. 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. Reports may contain information about reporters, persons concerned and bystanders. The GDPR, Latvian data-processing law and special reporting rules govern processing. Distinguish lawful handling from unjustified collection, sharing and retention.

The reporting Act has no universal five-year period for all files. Purpose, document and process duties determine retention. Public-procurement originals may have a separate section 40(5) regime; this is not automatically the period for the whole reporting file.

Apply the following rule: Sections 11–12 protect the identities of reporters and persons concerned. The GDPR requires necessity-based retention. Adopt a specific document schedule considering archiving, procedural and sectoral duties. The Whistleblowing Law contains no universal five-year period for all reports. Assess attachments, exports and copies too.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Map categories, copies and systems. Approve grounds, starting event and review. Check separate litigation or other preservation duties. Record destruction and exceptions without automating an unverified assumption. 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

Software proposes five years after receipt for everything. Review finds different categories and first establishes their bases and starting events. 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: May a technical default be presented as Latvia’s universal legal period? 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. That would invent a rule. Adopt justified retention and matching configuration, including copies and attachments.

One mistake to avoid is: confusing retention length and starting event.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. The system deletes every file five years after receipt. Is this a universal Latvian rule?

No. Define purpose, applicable procedural and archiving duties, starting event and review. Protect exports and attachments too. Completed examination does not automatically mean immediate deletion; indefinite unnecessary retention is also impermissible. Document exceptions and regular review.

National Legal Framework: Trauksmes celšanas likums, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law.