Claims and restitutions of public archives

Each year, the state reintegrates dozens of archival documents into public collections that have been diverted from them at more or less old periods. This reinstatement, carried out at the end of a “claim” (legal term used by the code du patrimoine, (Articles L112-22 and 23) (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074236/LEGISCTA000035105125/#LEGISCTA000035105128)) conducted with a private holder (professional or private), has a dual purpose: guarantee the integrity of cultural property belonging to the State and the access of all to this national historic heritage. This practice is legally based on the principles of [inalienability, imprescriptibility](https://francearchives.fr/article/235244911) and elusiveness of property belonging to the public domain, as referred to in the Codes of Heritage, Property of Public Persons and Local and Regional Authorities. In terms of archival management, three administrations are empowered to act in this field: the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Armed Forces each for their own perimeter, and the Ministry of Culture for all other ministerial sectors. In the interests of transparency, the Claims Observatory aims to report on the policy on public archival claims. This dataset aggregates all data on refund applications made to holders in 2021 and 2022. It should be noted that data from the Ministry of the Armed Forces were not yet complete in 2021 and were not included in the data for this year, and they were integrated into the observatory from 2022 onwards. Details of the indicators (date of action or sale, number of lots concerned, description, types of documents, periods concerned, services instructors and recipients and outcome of the action) are available in the annex (downloadable via the “Export” tab). Learn more about the observatory of public archival restitutions (national portal FranceArchives: [Observatoire des restitutions d’archives publique (FranceArchives))](https://francearchives.fr/section/672908641/). Learn more about the analysis of data from the 2022 interministerial observatory of restitution (national portal FranceArchives: [Analysis of data from the 2022 interministerial restitution observatory (FranceArchives](https://francearchives.fr/fr/article/668625793)).