LegalGELegalGE
...

Digital Preservation

How long must I keep tax records?

Under Georgian Tax Code, accounting and tax documents must be retained for at least 6 years.

Can I digitize paper contracts and destroy originals?

It depends on the document type. While digital copies with qualified e-signatures are valid, some originals must be kept by law.

Does digital archiving have legal force?

Yes, provided that security standards are met and the authenticity and integrity of documents can be proven in court.

What is LTV (Long Term Validation)?

LTV ensures that electronic signatures remain valid even after the signing certificate expires, which is crucial for long-term storage.

Reading Time

3 min

Published

...

Digital Preservation legal support is critical for modern businesses, archives, and government structures. This service involves creating a legal framework for the long-term storage, protection, and accessibility of electronic information. Unlike simple "backups," digital preservation involves a complex strategy to ensure data authenticity, integrity, and legal validity over decades, despite technological changes. Legislation in Georgia, including the "Law on Electronic Documents and Electronic Trust Services," imposes strict requirements on retaining electronic documents so they maintain evidentiary weight in court.

Many organizations are at risk when legacy file formats (e.g., outdated Word documents or databases) become unreadable, or retention periods are violated. Legal.ge offers access to experts who will help you develop a Data Retention Policy compliant with GDPR, Georgian legislation, and international standards (ISO 14721 OAIS).

What does the Digital Preservation Service cover?

The service focuses on managing the information lifecycle:

  • Retention Policy Development: Creating a document defining what data types to keep, for how long, and in what format.
  • Legal Audit: Checking existing archiving systems for compliance (e.g., 6-year term for accounting documents).
  • Migration Strategy: Establishing legal protocols for transferring data between formats (Migration) to prevent integrity loss.
  • Authenticity Validation: Mechanisms for maintaining the validity of electronic signatures and timestamps in the long term (LTV - Long Term Validation).
  • Data Destruction: Procedures for secure and legal deletion of information after expiration.

Common Real-World Scenarios

Organizations often face the following problems:

  • Litigation: A company needs to present a 10-year-old email as evidence, but the file is corrupted or the format is no longer supported.
  • Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): When acquiring a company, it is essential to verify the history of digital assets and determine their legal status.
  • Personal Data: GDPR requires data deletion if no longer needed. "Cleaning" old archives is a complex legal task.
  • Intellectual Property: Preserving digital art or software code to protect copyrights.

Legal Framework: Electronic Archive

The Law of Georgia on the National Archival Fund and National Archives and the Law on Electronic Documents establish standards for electronic document circulation and storage. Special attention is paid to preserving metadata, which confirms the document's creation time, author, and change history.

Step-by-Step Service Process

  1. Inventory: Describing digital assets.
  2. Classification: Categorizing data by retention periods and importance.
  3. Regulation: Writing internal rules for archiving and deletion.
  4. Monitoring: Periodic audits to verify data integrity.

Why choose a specialist on Legal.ge?

Losing digital memory is catastrophic for a business. Lawyers on Legal.ge will help you build a resilient system that protects your corporate history and ensures readiness for any legal challenge.

Updated: ...

Specialists for this service

Loading...