Research rules
Researchers can have access to the widest range of documents. They can see any documents, with the exception of some special data, even within the time of protection. A scientific researcher is a person with a research permission from an advisory board (with members delegated by scientific institutions). Conditions under which such a permission can be obtained and the frames of the permit are defined in the Act of Archives and the Act that founded the Historical Archives. In this respect, the citizens of the European Union and the states involved in the European Economic Agreement have the same rights as those of the Hungarian citizens. A detailed research plan, a list of publications and a so-called Statement of Support must be attached to the request for a Research Permission. A Statement of Support is issued by a research institute on the basis of the detailed research plan. If the Permission of Research is denied the researcher may go to court.
Citizens of other States can get a Permission of Research if the Commission of European Union has stated that the given State will secure the proper protection of personal data. In such a case, a Statement of Support can only be issued by the respective institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
The scientific researcher must give a statement that they will keep the rules of data protection while handling or publishing the data. This is necessary because, in order to understand and learn the past, a scientific researcher can have access to a lot more data than can be made public. The Law of Data Protection contains the rules of making data public. According to this law, the institute or the person who carries out scientific research can only make personal data public if the person affected has given their consent or it is crucial from the point of view of showing the results of researching historical events.
The restrictions are as follows: before the time of protection expires (which is 30-90-60 years for researchers), researchers can have access to data concerning race, nationality, minority, or ethnic status, religion or other ideology only with permission from the Board of Trustees. Data concerning state of health, obsessions and sexual life can be subject to research only after the time of protection expires. The person observed or a third person may forbid the research of their personal data for no longer than 90 years after the date of the documents. Employees, network people and operative contact persons have no such rights. All the other data is a free subject of research.
Courts may indirectly ask the Archives for data if it is needed for their tasks.
Other State Institutes can only have access to the documents kept in the Historical Archives if they have the approval of the National Security Committee of Hungarian Parliament in advance, or in urgent cases they must inform the Committee after the event.
Access to the documents is free for everybody, but copies of the documents must be paid for by researchers, scientific researchers included.
Application forms
Research application
Declaration of the researcher
Supporting expertise
