Public Information

Public information is understood to be all documents or content, regardless of their format or medium, that are held by any of the entities referred to in Article 3 and that have been created or acquired in the exercise of their functions, regardless of when they were created or acquired.

The disclosure and provision of public information must adhere to the limits established in both the basic national legislation and that of the Generalitat regarding transparency, without prejudice to the implications of personal data protection regulations and any other specific applicable regulations. (Articles 7.4 and 7.5)
LAW 1/2022, of April 13, of the Generalitat, on Transparency and Good Governance of the Valencian Community

Application of Access Policies to Documents in Accordance with Current Heritage and Data Protection Legislation

The access regime to documents forming part of the various series produced within the scope of university administration is determined by the document assessment tables issued by the Document Review Board for Administrative Records (JQDA) and, in their absence, by applicable legislation on heritage and data protection.

The right to access public documentation must strike a proper balance between transparency and privacy protection.

The right to access public documentation is recognized in both state and regional legislation.

National Legislation

Spanish Constitution, Article 105(b):

“The law shall regulate:
b) Citizens' access to administrative records and archives, except where it affects national security and defense, criminal investigations, or personal privacy.”

Law 16/1985, of June 25, on Spanish Historical Heritage, Article 57:

1. The consultation of documents that constitute Spanish documentary heritage, as defined in Article 49.2, shall follow these rules:

   a. As a general rule, such documents—once their processing is complete and they are deposited and registered in the central archives of the relevant public law entities—shall be freely accessible unless they concern classified matters under the Official Secrets Act or are expressly declared confidential by law, or if their dissemination could pose risks to state security, defense, or criminal investigations.

   b. Despite the above, administrative authorization may be requested to access documents excluded from public consultation. This may be granted, in the case of secret or classified documents, by the authority that issued the classification, and in other cases, by the head of the department responsible for their custody.

   c. Documents containing personal data of a police, legal, clinical, or other nature that could affect a person's safety, honor, privacy, or image shall not be publicly accessible without the express consent of the affected individuals or until 25 years have passed since their death (if known), or otherwise 50 years from the date of the documents.

2. Regulations shall establish the conditions for consulting such documents and for obtaining copies.

Royal Decree 1708/2011, of November 18, establishing the Spanish Archives System and regulating the Archives System of the General State Administration and its Public Bodies, including their access regime.
Chapter IV: Procedure for access to documents and archives.

Law 19/2013, of December 9, on Transparency, Access to Public Information, and Good Governance.
Title I, Chapter III, Articles 12–24: Regulates the right of access to public information, its limitations, personal data protection, as well as the procedures for exercising this right and the appeals system.

Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
Article 13, Rights of individuals in their relations with Public Administrations:

d) Access to public information, archives, and records, in accordance with Law 19/2013 and the rest of the legal framework.

Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights.
This law incorporates into Spanish law Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council, of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons in the processing of their personal data and the free movement of such data. It also repeals Organic Law 15/1999 and its implementing regulation (Royal Decree 1720/2007, of December 21).

Title III of this law, devoted to individual rights, aligns with the principle of transparency in data processing established by the European regulation. It introduces the concept of "layered information", widely used in fields such as video surveillance and mass data storage (e.g., cookies), enabling the provision of basic initial information along with a link or medium for easy access to detailed information.

This title is based on Recital 8 of the EU Regulation, which allows Member States to complement the regulatory framework to ensure coherence. The law also regulates fundamental data protection rights, such as the rights of access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction of processing, and data portability.

Regional Legislation

Law 3/2005, of June 15, of the Generalitat, on Archives
Chapter IV: On access to documents and their availability to citizens, especially Articles 56 and 59.

Article 56 – Right of Access

1. All individuals and legal entities have the right to access the information contained in documents stored in the archives of the Valencian Archival System, subject to the limitations established by current legislation.

2. All individuals have the right to conduct cultural, historical, or scientific research in the historical archives of the Valencian Archival System and to freely consult the documents deposited therein. This is without prejudice to any access restrictions applicable to the documents under current legislation or those imposed for preservation reasons or institutional needs.

Article 59 – Access Rules for Historical Archive Collections

1. All documents that do not contain personal data may be freely consulted.

2. Unless otherwise provided by law, documents containing personal data may be freely consulted once 25 years have passed since the person’s death, or 50 years from the document date if the date of death is unknown.

3. If these time limits have not passed and the information affects safety, honor, privacy, image, or other legally protected interests, the documents may only be consulted by the data subjects or their heirs. Others may consult them only with written consent from the affected individuals or under the terms set by law.

4. Whenever possible, consultation will be carried out using copies to better preserve the originals. Originals may only be consulted if the research requires it and with prior authorization from the archive director.

5. Documents that form part of the Valencian documentary heritage and are deposited in a historical archive, even if owned by individuals or private institutions, may be consulted as described in this article. For documents not considered part of this heritage, access shall be governed by the terms of the deposit or loan agreement.

Law 1/2022, of April 13, of the Generalitat, on Transparency and Good Governance of the Valencian Community
Chapter III, Right of access to public information, Articles 27 to 37.