French legal framework of digital evidence

Date16 March 2015
Published date16 March 2015
Pages96-106
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-07-2014-0031
AuthorAntoine Meissonnier,Françoise Banat-Berger
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information management & governance
French legal framework of
digital evidence
Antoine Meissonnier and Françoise Banat-Berger
French Archives Department, Ministry of Culture, Paris, France
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to describe the development of the French legal framework of
digital evidence. The ongoing transformations of information in an electronic environment
reconsidered xity and stability of writing. The society needed to construct a new way for guaranteeing
records’ authenticity and integrity, considering the necessity of conserving record’s probative value
through time. That is the reason why France has published different legal texts since 2000 for
establishing some rules.
Design/methodology/approach The article is mainly focused on acts and decrees which
constitute this legal framework. It resumes content of the main texts and highlights the great evolutions
of French legal framework of digital evidence.
Findings – The article showcases two main approaches for guaranteeing records probative value in
French Law: one is based on information systems security, and the other is based on electronic
signature. Both approaches can be complementary. Their principles are not so different as far as the
conclusions of InterPARES work.
Originality/value – This work makes a link between French Law studies and academic archival
studies. It showcases the development of principles guaranteeing records’ authenticity and integrity
with many quotations from French legal texts.
Keywords Electronic records management, Laws, Legislation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Fixity of form and stability of content, which have been the essential characteristics of
documents from the invention of the movable type printing to the copyright
development (Salauün, 2012), are now vanishing behind new models that are linked
somehow to ancient ways of knowing and thinking, e.g. authorship dissolution,
incessant information variability, proliferation of text variants, new forms of
partnerships between authors and readers and new ways of reading (Chartier, 2009).
These ongoing transformations have signicant impacts on information management
professions, and particularly on archival and diplomatic science, whose main purpose is
to prove the authenticity of records.
In the digital context, a record does not exist any longer as an indivisible
self-contained unit, but is constituted of digital components requiring different
preservation measures. The risk of losing a digital record is the highest when we need to
transmit it through time or space as its identity, integrity, readability and usability are
at risk. The InterPARES research project (www.interpares.org) has demonstrated that it
is not possible to preserve a digital record: we can only maintain our ability to re-produce
it or re-create it when needed.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
RMJ
25,1
96
Received 18 July 2014
Revised 2 November 2014
Accepted 18 December 2014
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.25 No. 1, 2015
pp.96-106
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-07-2014-0031

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